Seven Days of Strange Stories
by Arglefumph
Summary: A collection of seven oneshots for Gohan/Videl Week 5.0, sponsored by Sweetest Irony. The various themes/prompts include pirates, Victorian romance, cowboys, monsters, detectives, royalty and astronauts.
1. Where Has All the Rum Gone?

**Author's Note: **This story was written for Gohan/Videl Week 5.0, a contest held by SweetestIrony. They have a series of seven prompts, one for each day of the week. Today's prompt was "swashbuckling adventure".

* * *

Videl didn't know everything in the world, but she knew that some things would _never_ happen. Her father would never turn down an opportunity for publicity, Erasa would never get anything higher than a "C" in English class, and Gohan would never knowingly break school rules.

That is why Videl was shocked when Gohan stumbled into class on Monday morning, completely drunk.

"WHERE HAS ALL THE RUM GONE?" Gohan shouted loudly.

Gohan was wearing a home-made pirate outfit, with a hat that was made out of a paper bag and an eyepatch that was made out of a sock.

"What on Earth?" Videl asked.

"Is that _Gohan?_" Erasa asked.

"He's gone insane," Videl said.

"Yar! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" Gohan said. "Shiver me timbers!" He wobbled around unsteadily on his feet.

"Quick, we have to help him before the teacher comes!" Erasa said, grabbing Videl's hand and running down the stairs. They grabbed Gohan before he fell over.

Erasa may have been concerned about helping her friend and fellow student, but Videl was less than thrilled about helping a drunk moron, especially because she still suspected that Gohan was the Great Saiyaman.

"What's _wrong _with you?" Videl asked Gohan. "You can't show up to class like this!"

"Yar...yar...har..." Gohan mumbled, taking a drink from the green bottle he was holding in his left hand.

Videl took the bottle and sniffed it to double-check that, yep, it had some kind of alcohol inside. She wisely decided to confiscate the bottle.

"Hey, give that back, wench!" Gohan said. "Don't make me kee-haul you!"

"If you _ever_ call me that again, I will make you suffer," Videl said.

The threat seemed to bring Gohan back to his senses, and his pupils contracted. "Vid...Videl?" Gohan asked.

"It's me," Videl said. "What are you doing?"

"It's...*hic*...it's Pirate Day," Gohan said. "Sharprener told me."

"Pirate day?" Videl asked.

"Oh, I know what he means!" Erasa said. "It's Talk like a Pirate Day, where you're supposed to dress up like a pirate and act like one! It's really fun!"

"And I brought all the pirate rum!" Gohan said, pulling out another bottle of rum from inside his jacket.

Videl confiscated this bottle, too. "Gohan, you _do_ know that there's alcohol in rum, right?" she asked.

"What?" Gohan asked. "Alco...rum..._where has the rum gone?_"

Videl slapped her face. Gohan was Orange Star High's smartest student, but he didn't know anything about drinking. Great.

"Look, we're going to take you to the nurse's office, okay?" Videl asked. "You can sleep there."

"I don't wanna go to be, Mom..." Gohan mumbled, his eyelids starting to close. "Why...sleep...ahoy..."

"Well, _this_ is the weirdest thing that's happened to me in a while," Erasa said, as she and Videl pulled Gohan down the hallway. "Who knew Gohan could do something so stupid?"

"Personally, I want to know where he got all that rum," Videl said. "Oh, shoot!"

Videl's watch started beeping, and the Chief of Police came through the speaker. "Videl! The Red Shark Gang is holding the mayor hostage!"

"Wait, what?" Videl asked. "The Red Shark Gang? Didn't you arrest them last week?"

"We did," the Chief said. "We're not sure about the details, but apparently the Red Shark Gang broke out of jail, and they decided to kidnap the mayor a second time!"

"Some people never learn," Videl muttered. "I'll be there soon, Chief. Erasa, you can take care of Gohan, right?"

"Yessir, Captain Videl!" Erasa said, saluting her friend. "Kick some Red Shark Booty!"

"YAR HAR HAR!" Gohan agreed.

"That's not funny," Videl said, before leaving to get her jet copter.

* * *

When Videl arrived at the mayor's house, she immediately knew something was wrong. The people there were _not _the Red Shark gang.

Sure, they were wearing all-red outfits with a picture of a shark on the front, but they weren't the people she had fought last week.

"Ah, Videl," one of the people said. It was a man, judging by his voice. She couldn't tell for sure, because they all were wearing hoods. "Welcome to our test."

"Who are you sickos, and where's the mayor?" Videl demanded.

"We are the Red Shark Fighters," the man said. "A skilled group of martial artists who have been looking for a worthy competitor. Are you her?"

"What?" Videl asked.

That was when the man attacked her. She quickly realized that the man wasn't lying; he _was_ trained in martial arts. As soon as she managed to knock him down, another fighter stepped in to take his place.

All in all, the gang was made up of about six fighters. They constantly switched in and out, so she couldn't have any time to rest. Videl quickly became tired, and things were looking bad for her, when...

"WHERE HASH ALL TEH RUM GONE?" someone shouted.

A tall figure with a red cape, green suit and pirate hat appeared on the scene.

"I am the Great Saiyaman!" he cried. "I will stop you vile bandits! That'll teach _you _to steal the rum!"

Despite the dangerous situation, Videl felt like jumping for joy. It was obviously Gohan! "I _knew_ he was Saiyaman!" Videl said.

"Get him!" the Red Shark leader said. "He can't interrupt our fight!"

The Red Sharks charged Gohan in a group, but when they tried punching his rock-hard muscles, they ended up hurting themselves. Two of them actually broken their fingers. Soon, the Red Shark Fighters were rolling around on the group, howling in pain.

It was the first time Gohan had stopped criminals without even throwing a punch.

"Well, what do you know?" Gohan said. "It looks like pirates really _do_ beat ninjas! Yar!"

"Gohan!" Videl said. "That's you, isn't it? You're the Great Saiyaman!"

"AHOY!" Gohan said. "That's Cap'n Saiyaman to you! But ye can always be my first mate! Yar har har har har!"

Videl laughed along with the drunk superhero. _I am __so__ going to blackmail him forever, thanks to this!_ she thought happily.

* * *

The above tale is the _real_ story of how Videl figured out Gohan's secret identity. They were supposed to make it into a DragonBall Z episode, but the producers thought it would send a bad message to kids if Gohan got drunk. So they made up some fake story about a kidnapped dinosaur instead.


	2. A Victorian Romance

**Author's Note: **The prompt for today was "Victorian Era". Putting the DragonBall Z characters in a Victorian universe was difficult, but I hope it came out well. It was definitely an interesting challenge!

* * *

It was two o'clock on Friday afternoon, and the Sons were having a quiet tea together in the dining hall. Goku had just finished a hard week at the labor-house, but no matter how hard he worked, he could never seem to earn enough zeni to cover the family's expenses. He would look for another place of employment during the weekend, but for now, he desired nothing more than a moment of peace with his beautiful wife Chi-Chi.

The peacefulness of the moment, alas, was not to last, for it was soon disturbed by the cruel, unrelenting man who was determined to evict the happy couple. This foul villain threw open the dining room doors, causing Chi-Chi to drop her teacup in shock.

"_Kakarott!_" Vegeta yelled. "Where is the money you promised to pay last month?"

"Sir Vegeta!" Goku said, standing up suddenly. "Chi-Chi, you—"

"Greetings, noble sir," Chi-Chi said, quickly getting up from her chair and giving a curtsy to their unexpected visitor. "Would you like some tea?"

"I do not," Vegeta said, curtly. "I have business to discuss with your husband. Business of a monetary nature."

"Oh, my good sir, I beseech thee, be merciful with us," Chi-Chi said. "Our son Gohan was just accepted to Oxford and the cost of tuition is so—"

"Silence," Vegeta said, holding up a hand. "This is a matter for _gentlemen_ to discuss. A woman has no place in such delicate affairs, especially a woman who is as rough as you."

Goku put down his teacup, his hand shaking slightly. _How dare he talk to my wife that way? The impudence!_

Chi-Chi cast a worried glance at Goku, who nodded slightly. Thus encouraged, she bowed her head and said, "A thousand apologies, my lord. I will...I will return to my quarters."

Chi-Chi rushed out of the room as quickly as dignity would allow, but she was not fast enough to escape the harsh diatribe offered by the landlord. The floorboards creaked eerily as she ascended towards the attic, as if the house itself was making the complaint its denizens could not. With one trembling hand on the doorknob, she turned back and looked at the dining room door.

She could easily hear the quarrel between her husband and the house's owner, as neither man was attempting to keep quiet.

"I daresay, my good man!" Goku said. "You should watch your words more carefully, lest you impugn my honor!"

Vegeta adjusted his stovepipe hat, which was four feet tall and covered all of his hair. "I would fain impugn your honor, Kakarott, had you any," he said. "A low-class fool like yourself doesn't know the meaning of that, or any other word."

"My word!" Goku said. His monocle fell off of his eye and landed on the ground, where it broke into pieces.

"Your _word_, I daresay, is as unrefined as you are," Vegeta smirked, bowing graciously. "However, the truth remains that you owe me 600 zeni in rent, not counting the 200 you owe me from last month."

"I...I have 50 zeni in my room," Goku said. "I could get it for you prompt—"

"SILENCE!" Vegeta cried. "I do not want your measly 50 zeni! I want my 800 zeni, and I want it immediately!"

"My lord, I beg you, think of my two children! They cannot be allowed to go hungry! Think of my outstanding military record! Think of your wife, who has a fondness for the years long past where we shared fellowship together!"

Vegeta almost growled, except such behavior was entirely undignified. It was true, Mrs. Briefs would throw a fit if she learned her husband had mistreated the Sons.

"I _have_ thought of such things," Vegeta said. "And that is why I am giving you one week. Pay what you owe, in full, or else you shall become London's newest paupers."

"One week!" Goku cried. "It is more generous than we deserve, but I doubt I could come up with 800 zeni, even if you gave me a year! Please, delay your anger! When our son Gohan graduates, he shall be able to—"

"_If_ your son graduates, which is unlikely, considering how stupid his parents are," Vegeta said. "Pull him out of school, and use his tuition funds to pay what you owe me."

"But that is impossible!" Goku gasped. "Pull my son out of Oxford? He is the first member of our family to go to college, and—"

"It does not matter to me," Vegeta said, coldly. "Your son is too unrefined for college, anyway. It will be better for him to take a job in manual labor, which is the only job suitable for brutes of _your_ ilk."

"But—"

Vegeta got up, and tightened his gloves. "One week, Kakarott. If you do not get the 800 zeni by then, I shall have you thrown into debtor's prison. Good day."

Vegeta walked calmly towards the exit, the very picture of serenity, in contrast to the silently weeping Goku. The proud Saiyan landlord smirked to himself, amused at the fact that he had come in angrily, but was now leaving peacefully.

"Consider this a blessing," Vegeta said, by way of parting. "No man should bankrupt himself, trying to live out false dreams."

The door slammed loudly behind Vegeta, and Goku fell to his knees. "Ay, me!" he cried. "We are in more dire straits than I realized!"

Goku took a moment to compose himself, then made the long journey to his wife's room. She deserved to know of the foul fate that had befallen them.

* * *

Gohan received the news the next day, in the form of a missive which he pulled out while the lecture hall was emptying itself.

"A letter from home, peasant boy?" Sharpener asked. "Since when did your father know how to write? I never knew monkeys were able to—"

"Silence thy tongue, craven," Gohan said, trying to ignore the young aristocrat's taunts. Almost daily, Sharpener and his fellows had tormented Gohan about the fact that he was not from a noble family. By now, the young Gohan had learned to ignore such attacks, though he could not avoid their sting.

"Craven? You call _me_ craven? Clearly, you have not looked in a mirror, although I wouldn't expect you to afford a hand mirror, much less an entire—"

In his haste to get away and read his letter in peace, Gohan knocked Sharpener aside.

"You foul beast!" Sharpener cried. "Come back here, and do me justice, you—!"

Sharpener's cries died out as Gohan quickened his pace. It was unbecoming of him, to be sure, but the letter had his complete and full attention. He read it twice to ensure himself of its contents, then groaned in displeasure.

"A thousand curses!" Gohan said, crumpling up the letter and throwing it away. Leave Oxford? He could never leave! But it appeared his family could no longer afford to let him stay. What could a young man do in such a situation, torn between two undesirable extremes?

A nearby giggle brought Gohan out of his thoughts, and he noticed two young ladies standing nearby. One was a slim blonde woman, with a fluffy blue dress that matched her bright eyes. It was she who had giggled, and the traces of a smile still lingered on her lips.

Her companion was a raven-haired beauty, about the same age as Gohan. On her lips was no smile, and in her eyes was no shine. She openly glared at the collegiate, as if offended by his very existence. Gohan hung his head in shame at having offended such a lovely lady.

"How charming," the blond woman said. "It is rare to see such a passionate young man among the halls of scholars."

"How uncouth," her companion corrected. "Good sir, did you really discard a paper in such a public manner, in such a rude fashion?"

"A thousand apologies," Gohan said, bending down and picking up the letter he had thrown away. "I...that is, the contents of the letter upset me, and I..."

"Showed the maturity of a three-year-old," the lady said, glaring again. Gohan raised his head to look at her, and he saw nothing but anger in her lovely eyes.

_Lovely? No! Compose yourself, Gohan! _He thought. Normally, he would compliment such a fine young woman on her natural beauty, but he could no longer afford to let his emotions take control of himself, now that he was among the members of the upper-class. No wonder Sharpener constantly berated his behavior!

"Oh, Videl, _do_ lighten up," the blond woman said. "He means no harm. You mean no harm, yes?"

"I could never harm a pair of lovely young ladies as yourselves," Gohan said, bowing with all graciousness.

The blond woman giggled again, while the brunette's glare hardened. "May I ask your name, good sir?"

"I am Gohan Son," Gohan said. He tried his best to look sincere, although he could not help but feel a twinge of shame at the fact that, unlike his fellow classmates, he had no official title.

"Well, Mr. Son, it appears you are in need of some gaiety," the blond said. "As it turns out, I am in need of an escort to the Kingsley Ball tonight. Would you be willing to accompany me?"

"Of course!" Gohan said, instantly. The Kingsley Ball? Someone of his background would _never_ be allowed to attend such a grand affair without prior invitation!

"Then you can meet us at Kingsley Hall tonight at six," she said. "My name is Erasa Pencil. Good day, Mr. Son."

"Good—good day!" Gohan stammered.

The two women left together, continuing their constitutional. Gohan caught the tail end of their conversation.

"Erasa, I must say, that is highly irregular—"

"Videl, if you do not have some enjoyment in—"

Gohan's jaw dropped suddenly, as he realized who the young woman was.

Videl Satan.

The wealthy heiress.

* * *

_If I were to befriend Miss Videl, she could easily resolve my family's financial situation_, Gohan thought. _But how could I befriend a woman to such a degree in such a short amount of time, especially a woman who is so brusque?_

Needless to say, Gohan had no prior experience with courting ladies of Videl's caliber. Her father was world-famous, and they regularly dined with royalty, whereas Gohan's father was a day-laborer who could not even afford the rent on their apartments.

Verily, Gohan had a Herculean task ahead of him, but there was no denying that Gohan himself had a Herculean nature. Nonetheless, it was with much hesitation that Gohan approached Kingsley Hall that night.

"Yoo hoo! Mr. Son! Over here!" Erasa said.

Gohan followed the sound of her voice through the crowd until he located the plucky young woman. He gulped when he saw her.

_Her dress probably costs more than a month's wages_, Gohan thought. He considered leaving right then and there, because there was no way he could accommodate such as well-to-do lady, but Erasa grabbed his wrist and smiled. "I'm so glad you came!" she said.

"I...I...I never..." Gohan stammered.

"He can't even speak in complete sentences," a haughty voice said nearby. Gohan swung his head around to see the heiress, Videl.

Gohan's eyes almost popped out of his head, as he saw the perfect picture of loveliness standing before him. The woman's raven hair cascaded down her light-skinned face, reaching her shoulders. The shoulder poofs went up to her ears, highlighting her delicate blue earrings.

The only thing that besmirched her beauty was the distasteful frown on her lips. Gohan's stomach contracted, knowing that he was the cause of her displeasure.

"You are too unrefined to dine with us," Videl said curtly, pulling no punches. "I insist you go home, boy."

"You're beautiful..." Gohan said, still enraptured by Videl's face.

"What?" Videl said, loudly.

"Augh! I mean, I mean, you _are_ beautiful," Gohan said, mentally slapping himself for using a contraction in such a formal situation.

"I am well aware of that, thank you," Videl said. "Really, Erasa, I cannot believe you wish for this ungentlemanly character to be your escort tonight."

"Pay her no heed, Mr. Son," Erasa said. "I am sure that Miss Videl is merely jealous of the fact that mine is the superior escort."

"Call me Gohan," Gohan said, smiling in a gentle manner.

"How inappropriate!" Videl said. "First names?"

Gohan's smile disappeared.

A voice behind Gohan laughed. "What ruffian would address the lovely Miss Videl Satan by her first name, when I, her escort of three years, would not deign to—"

Gohan turned around. The man before him was Sharpener.

"Oh," Sharpener said. "_Oh._ I should have known. Such an egregious lack of propriety could only belong to the young Master Gohan."

Gohan's ears burned at being given the honorific usually reserved for ten-year-olds.

"Shouldn't you be going back to the cave whence you came?" Sharpener asked Gohan. "Or is it that you got lost searching for the shack you call a home? For truly, you have no place here, at a _cultured_ event, where—"

"He is to be my escort," Erasa said, grabbing Gohan's arm in a protective manner. "Isn't that right, Gohan?"

"Y-yes, Erasa," Gohan said.

Sharpener nearly lost his composure. "See here, Mr. Son, if you _ever_ refer to my sister by her first name again—" he said

"Erasa is your _sister?_" Gohan asked.

Fury burst on Sharpener's face, upon being interrupted. "Don't touch my sister, peasant boy!" he snapped.

Gohan instantly let go of Erasa's hand, inwardly mourning. Her fingers had felt warm against his, and he could not help but feel that he had lost the only person in the hall who approved of him.

Sharpener roughly grabbed Erasa's hand and yanked her away from Gohan. "Come now, sister, we are going home at once! The rabble that has been invited to this ball _clearly_ shows that it is beneath our dignity to attend!"

"But Sharpner, I like—"

"You do not," Sharpener said, "Do NOT find anything appealing about this scum, or I will have Father cut you off at once!"

"Pshaw! Father refuses to support me for more than two years anyway!" Erasa said. She spoke truly; if she did not find a husband within that time, she would, in effect, be cut off from the rest of the family.

"Oh, and what, you want to marry this rogue? Look at the state of his clothes! He couldn't afford a tailor, much less a wife!"

"W-w-w-wife?" Gohan asked.

"_You_ stay out of this," Sharpener said, waving a finger at Gohan. "In fact, if you so much as even _look_ at my sister again, I will personally box your ears off of your head. Good _day_."

Sharpener dragged his protesting sister away from the hall.

"I...I..."

"Congratulations," Videl said sarcastically. "In one sweeping moment of brutishness, you have managed to alienate two members of one of our country's finest families. I daresay you must be proud of yourself."

"Sharpner's a jerk," Gohan said, more to himself than anyone else.

Videl blinked. "You really _don't_ have manners, do you?" she asked.

"I...I try to practice good etiquette," Gohan said. "I am sorry if I cannot do so properly."

"Yes, well, try your hardest not to embarrass me tonight," Videl said.

"Embarrass you?"

"If Sharpener is gone, then _you_ are to be my escort, undesirable as it may be," Videl said. "Lead the way, good sir."

"Wha—I—that is—"

Videl glared at Gohan. "Lead the way, good sir," she repeated dangerously.

"Yes, my lady!" Gohan said, bowing. "And...thanks."

"You can thank me once the night is over," Videl said. "Assuming I do not regret it."

* * *

"That's _my_ water, you idiot!" Videl hissed.

Gohan blushed at his mistake. He had never been invited to a dinner with actual water goblets before. In his house, they used cups on tables without bedsheets on them.

Of course, when he asked Videl why they had bedsheets on top of the table, she hit him with a glare so fierce that Queen Victoria herself would falter under it.

"Sorry...I didn't know," Gohan mumbled.

Videl rolled her eyes. "The bread is on the left and water is on the right," she explained in a condescending manner. "The water goblet is always placed above the knife, so you cannot lose track of it."

"R...right," Gohan said, trying to process the information.

"And if you insist upon eating the bread, _do_ make sure to use a knife to spread the butter."

"I'm not _that_ stupid," Gohan said to himself, but his angry words did not reflect the state of his mind. Bread with actual butter! This was a first for him, and he was intent on not making any mistakes. Remembering what Videl said, he grabbed the piece of bread on his left and the knife below his water goblet.

"Aha!" Gohan said to himself. Success! He was a gentleman already!

A sharp pain hit the side of Gohan's leg, and it took him a moment to realize that Videl had kicked him under the table. _So __that's__ why they have bedsheets on the tables_, Gohan realized.

"Use the _butter knife_ on the butter, you simpleton," Videl said through clenched teeth.

Gohan dropped his knife immediately, and it landed in the butter. The butter tray was overturned and soiled the tablecloth.

"Augh!" Videl said. "Now you've done it! I knew I shouldn't have invited a mannerless beast like you, Dumb-Dumb!"

"It's not good manners to call someone 'Dumb-Dumb'," Gohan pointed out.

Videl crossed her arms. "I can only suppose that you are having an adverse influence upon my delicate young self," she said. "What do you _do_ all day, Mr. Son? Visit the local pubs and play billiards?"

Gohan beamed at this chance to redeem himself in the young woman's eyes. "No, I enjoy reading fine literature, and fighting, and—"

"_Fighting?_" Videl asked.

Gohan hung his head in shame. He knew that fighting was not proper dinner conversation. "Um...I'm also a...mumble mumble..."

Videl shook her head. "Speak up, Mr. Son. As it so happens, I think fighting is—"

"ALL RIGHT, LISTEN UP!" a voice shouted.

Gohan jumped in his seat, upsetting his water glass. Videl frowned again, but no one else noticed Gohan's mistake, as the attention of all those present was called to the two men who had just burst into the hall. They were common ruffians, from the look of them, and they were brandishing pistols.

"This here's a robbery, ain't it, Buu?" the shorter man said. His crooked teeth glinted through his wrinkled, yellowish face.

"You bet it 'tis, Gov'nuh!" the larger man said with a cockney accent. He was so fat that you could barely see his eyes. "Why, I bet we get 'alf a million zeni offa these rich tykes."

"That's rich _types_, you idiot," the boss said. "Now here's what's going to happen. All you rich folks is gonna put your valuables in our sack here, and if anyone doesn't feel like complyin', he'll get a bullet in his head, courtesy of me pal, Majin Buu. Got it?"

One of the deans stood up. "I insist you leave at once, sir! I'll have you know that my uncle works at Scotland Yard, and—"

The villain called Majin Buu casually whipped out his pistol and shot the man in the shoulder.

"Now tha' was what you call a warnin' shot, that was," Majin Buu said. "Next person 'oo feels like yellin' at us gets it right betwixt the eyes."

One by one, the guests at the ball were forced to give up all their valuables. Watches, wallets, diamonds and jewels...they all went into Babidi's sack. That is, until the foul knaves came to Gohan and Videl.

"Give us your earrings," Babidi growled, aiming his pistol at Videl's face.

"But...these were a gift from my father," Videl said, fingering her left earring. "I cannot bear to part with them."

"Oh, you're breakin' me heart, you are," Babidi said. "Hand 'em over, or I'll take 'em offa your dead body."

"Eh, simmer down, Babidi," Majin Buu grinned. "Why, a beau'iful lady like this one, she can pay us wif somethin' other than money, you know what I'm sayin'? Eh? Eh? Somethin' other than money?"

"I say, I resent that insinuation," Gohan said. He did not understand what the rogues were talking about, but he was sure it could not have been good.

"Ah, 'oo asked you?" Majin Buu said. "Come on, darling. 'Ow's about a kiss for old Majin Buu?"

Gohan stood up quickly. "I say—"

*BAM*

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

Gohan had forgotten to scoot his chair backwards before standing up, and therefore he knocked the table over, right on top of the foul villains. Majin Buu shot off his pistol in surprise as he jumped back from the mountain of food and dining ware that went crashing to the floor.

"You wanna fight, is that it?" Babidi said. "You just lost your life, idiot!"

Babidi aimed his gun at Gohan's head and fired. Reacting quickly, Gohan tackled Babidi and knocked him over. In the ensuing struggle, Babidi's gun was knocked away.

"You're dead, you hear me?" Babidi screeched, showering the young man with blows. But Gohan's fighting skills—gained from having participated in many a rugby match—were not to be taken lightly. He managed to pin the thief and cried in jubilation, when a ham-sized fist smashed into the side of his face.

"You mess wif the boss, you mess wif _me_," Majin Buu said. He swung another fist at Gohan, but Gohan rolled over to dodge. Majin Buu soon proved to be a tougher opponent than Babidi, as his layers of body fat prevented him from feeling the pain from any blow that Gohan could land on him.

_I can't beat this guy by strength alone_, Gohan realized. _But I didn't pass Oxford's entrance exams for nothing!_

"Hey, Buu!" Gohan said, grabbing one edge of a tablecloth. "What does this look like to you?"

Majin Buu scratched his head. "A bedsheet?" he guessed.

"Right you are," Gohan said, yanking the tablecloth with all his might. Majin Buu, who was standing on the other end of the tablecloth, fell over backwards and smashed his head on the ground. The large thug was immediately knocked unconscious.

"Nighty night," Gohan grinned, as he threw the tablecloth over the slumbering giant.

Cheers broke out through in the hallway, but they proved to be premature.

"GOHAN!" Videl shouted.

Gohan looked up. Babidi had somehow found his pistol, and he was now holding it against Videl's forehead. Videl struggled to break free of Babidi's grasp, but the villain's bony arms held her tight.

"Give up, or the girl dies!" Babidi yelled.

Gohan lowered his hands.

"Good, now give me the money sack!" Babidi yelled.

Gohan picked up the sack of money and slid it across the floor towards Babidi. Showing more skill than Gohan would have thought possible, Babidi managed to bend down and pick up the money sack while still keeping Videl captive in his arms.

Babidi grinned.

"That's a good boy," he said. "But it appears I have my hands full now. Guess I'll have to kill the girl, anyway. That'll teach you not to mess with Majin Buu, you son of a—_UGH!_"

Videl brought her elbow up against Babidi's chin. She then twirled around and jabbed him in the stomach.

Babidi tried to swing his arm around so he could use his pistol, but Videl knocked his hand aside before clasping her hands together and smashing them against the side of Babidi's head.

"Don't you know that you should never touch a lady?" Videl said as she pummeled the brute. Babidi soon decided that it was not his day, and he made a run for the exit where he ran into three policemen.

Gohan was stunned at his date's behavior. "Videl! You...you..."

"I like fighting, too," Videl said, casually putting her hair back into place.

* * *

The end of the evening was, needless to say, much better than the beginning. No one pointed out Gohan's bad manners anymore, for they were all too busy complimenting his bravery and chivalry.

"Such grand actions deserve a reward," the dean said. Pulling out his wallet, he removed 300 zeni and gave it to Gohan.

"Sir, this is too generous!" Gohan protested.

"Nonsense, my boy," the dean said. "If it weren't for you, I would have lost _all_ of my money, and where would I be, then? Heroes deserve to be rewarded, don't you agree?"

"I...I...thank you very much, sir!" Gohan said.

Another man stepped in. "I believe I can give you a little something as well," he said, pulling out 200 zeni. "Congratulations, young sir! I wish you luck in your academic career!"

"But...but..." Gohan said.

One by one, all of the guests gave Gohan a reward for his heroic deeds. By the time it was over, he had more than enough to pay for his tuition _and_ his family's debts! The Son family was saved!

There was one person, however, who did _not_ feel fit to reward Gohan: his date, Videl.

"That was extremely foolish, Gohan Son," Videl said angrily. "You could have been killed!"

"I'm sorry," Gohan said. "I just...I couldn't let him talk that way to you, that's all."

"You are as ill-refined as an ape!" she said. "I insist you take me home at once! A buffoon like you does not deserve to stay for the rest of the ball!"

"Great!" Gohan said. He didn't know how to dance, anyway. "Where do you live?"

Videl stomped her foot. "You are not supposed to be happy when a woman reprimands you, Mr. Son!" she said. "Instead, you should quaver in fear!"

"I...I'm sorry again," Gohan said.

Videl hmmphed. "I can see that we still have a long way to go before you will behave properly," she said. "Please, do not repeat tonight's brutal performance at our future dates."

"Future dates?" Gohan asked. "You mean...you're not mad?"

"Of _course_ I am upset with you," Videl said. "But if _I_ don't teach you how to act, who will? I expect to see you at my mansion tomorrow at half past three, for _private_ etiquette lessons, Mr. Son."

"P...p...private lessons?"

"If you do not appear at that time, you will be in immense trouble," Videl said, giving Gohan a final glare. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Very clear, Miss Videl," Gohan said.

Videl shook her head at Gohan's obvious buffoonery, then leaned towards Gohan and kissed his cheek.

"That's for saving me," she whispered. "Now take me home, Gohan."

"Yes, Miss Videl!" Gohan said, resisting the urge to salute. "Right away!"

And as they walked arm-in-arm back to Videl's coach, she leaned in a bit closer to him than common dignity would allow for.

* * *

So all in all, the Son's financial problems were solved. Gohan was able to afford his tuition to Oxford, without borrowing any money at all from the lovely heiress Videl, although this did not stop him from spending all his free time with his new-found sweetheart.

Gohan was surprised beyond all telling when Inspector Blugstone of Scotland Yard came to see him the next day. It seemed that there was a 100,000 zeni reward for the capture of Babidi or Majin Buu. Since Gohan captured both, he was given 200,000 zeni. Because of these fabulous funds, Goku was able to _buy_ his house from Vegeta, not just pay the rent on it.

"I told you that Gohan would be able to solve our problems!" Goku said proudly.

"I'm so proud!" Chi-Chi said, folding her hands together. "And Miss Videl sounds like a simply _lovely_ young lady! I do hope Gohan will bring her over for dinner, so I can meet her!"

* * *

Verily, it was a happy ending for all our heroes. However, there were two people who were, shall we say, less than overjoyed at the news.

"That worthless peasant boy!" Sharpener screamed, throwing down the newspaper which detailed the previous night's events. "I've been courting Videl for three years, and he swoops in and steals her in one night?"

"That's what you deserve for separating me from my escort," Erasa said, haughtily.

"So he thinks he can fight, eh? I'll show him what _real_ fighting is like!" Sharpener promised. "When I'm through with him, peasant boy will never show his face in Oxford again!"

At Capsule Corp, a similar scene was taking place.

"This is madness!" Vegeta ranted. "I was going to evict those worthless Sons and have them begging on the streets! This Gohan boy will pay for costing me a house and my honor! After all, we Saiyans prize honor above all other things!"

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

Tomorrow...

On...Wild West day?


	3. Home on the Range

**Author's Note: **The prompt for today was "Wild West Cowboy". I guess this means I'm going to have to switch genres, right in the middle of the story. Yeeha! Let's see if I can write a western...

* * *

**_Last time, on DragonBall Z..._**

The evil landlord Vegeta was aiming to kick Goku and his family off of the ranch, seeing as they couldn't afford to pay the rent. This would have been bad news for Gohan Son, a brave young compadre with a big heart and an even bigger brain. And so, Gohan rode off into the desert and managed to capture two no-good varmints called Babidi and Majin Buu.

Seems that Sheriff Dende had a pretty high reward for those two scoundrels, and he paid Gohan handsomely for it. Not only did Gohan get the money he needed for his family, but he also managed to get something even more valuable: the heart of a rich young girl named Videl Satan.

Little did Gohan know that his troubles were just beginning. Over the course of his adventures, he had upset two of the most dangerous folks west of the Mississippi: Sharpener the Kid, and Wild Vegeta Hitchcock. Both of those scoundrels were looking to scalp our hero Gohan, and that's where this story begins...

* * *

Gohan was getting his daily breakfast at the local saloon, very satisfied with himself.

"Mornin' Gohan!" the bartender said. "What'll it be?"

Gohan adjusted his hat so he could see better. "Give me a mess o' scrambled eggs, Krillin," Gohan said. "I'm hungry today!"

"Yessir," the bartender said, getting to work. "I heard about you stoppin' those bandits out in the desert yesterday. Good job!"

"Shucks, it was nothing," Gohan said.

"Nothin', eh?" a deep voice said. "Nothin'?"

Gohan looked up. Standing inside the saloon doors was Sharpener the Kid, and his fingers were itching at his sides.

"Oh, shoot," Krillin said, ducking underneath the bar. He could sense a fight coming, sure as shootin'.

"Sharpener?" Gohan asked.

"You foul knave!" Sharpener said. "Thou hast impugned mine honor!"

"Victorian Day was _yesterday_," Gohan said, rolling his eyes. "Today is Wild West Day."

"Oh, right," Sharpener said. "I mean...uh...you stole my lady from me, you yeller-bellied dog!"

Gohan took a drink and smiled. "Videl never _was_ your lady, amigo. She can ride with whatever cowboy she likes, and right now, she likes me."

Sharpener kicked over a table. "You and me, punk. Pistols, tomorrow at noon. Be there, or I'll put a bullet through yer head."

"If you got a problem with me, Kid, let's settle it right now," Gohan said. "I can take you any day of the week."

"Oh, yeah?" Sharpener asked.

Gohan swung around, ramming his fist into Sharpener's face, before the outlaw could pull out a pistol. Sharpener hit the ground harder than a sack of horseshoes.

"Well, _that's_ taken care of," Gohan said, as if he had done nothing more that shake the dust off of his spurs. "Where are my eggs, Krillin?"

"Coming right up, sir!" Krillin said.

* * *

Videl had a private room inside her father's numerous properties. It was larger than the room she had back East—heck, it was larger than Gohan's entire house—but it still felt lonely. Everything felt lonelier, out here in the wilderness.

"Oh, Videl, I'm so jealous!" Erasa said. "How did you manage to catch the eye of such a handsome cowboy?"

"I wouldn't call him _handsome_," Videl said. "He's too much of a rough-and-tumble guy, for my tastes. I like my men more...refined."

"Oh, you city girls and your crazy ideas," Erasa said. "There ain't nothin' wrong with a cowboy! Why, a cowboy's more manly than all of yer how-do-yeh-do city boys put together!"

"I can take care of myself," Videl said. "I don't need some manly man to protect me."

"Is that so?" a man sneered as he stepped into the room.

Erasa screamed as the intruder grabbed Videl.

* * *

Gohan was settling to leave town for a mite when Yamcha came running up.

"Gohan! Gohan! Urgent news!"

"Yeah?" Gohan grunted. He had just gotten back in the saddle, ready for a good long ride. He didn't want to deal with Yamcha right then; he needed to go out to the desert and think. There's nothing for thinkin' like riding your horse in the desert.

"Videl's been kidnapped!" Yamcha said.

"WHAT?" Gohan asked.

"Sheriff Dende says he needs you to help stop the kidnappers!" Yamcha said. "He's a-waitin' for you by th' old, abandoned general store!"

"That's where the kidnappers have got her hostage, eh?" Gohan asked. He spit on the ground. "Reckon I'd better go save her."

"Reckon you better," Yamcha said.

"Reckon so."

"Reckon ah-doodily."

"Reckon by-doodily."

"Reckon cy—oh, heck, I ain't got time for this."

Gohan kicked his feet into the sides of his noble steed, Icarus. "HYAH!" he shouted.

* * *

Gohan rode to the abandoned general store, on the edges of town. No one ever came that way anymore, except outlaws. Why, the closest building around was the train station, and even then, you'd have to follow the tracks three miles in order to reach it.

A lone figure stood out in the middle of the street. "You Gohan?" the man called.

"I am," Gohan said. "Who're you, stranger?"

"I'm Sheriff Dende's deputy," the man said. "We need your help, son."

Gohan got off his horse and tied it to a nearby hitching rack before slowly making his way up to the deputy. With each step, his gun jostled in its hostler, aching for a fight.

"The kidnappers have her in there?" Gohan asked, tilting his head towards the store.

"Not quite," the deputy said.

"Well, then, where is she?" Gohan demanded.

"She's nearby," the man said. "But first, we gotta have a little talk, you and I."

**[Insert Wild West Showdown music here]**

Gohan smelt a trap, and if that Wild West Showdown music was any indication, a fight was going to soon follow. "Whadda want?" Gohan asked.

"Why, don't you recognize me yet?" the man asked. "It's me, your old pal, Wild Vegeta Hitchcock!"

"Wild Vegeta!" Gohan said, squinting in the sunlight. "The scum-sucking dirtbag who's robbed every bank from here to Californy? The same lowlife who tried to run my family offa the ranch?"

"That's me," Vegeta grinned. "And I gotta bone t'pick with you, cowboy. See, you interfered with my plans to get rid of your worthless land-squatter family, so now you're gonna pay."

"Is that right?" Gohan asked.

"You bet. NAPPA!" Vegeta shouted.

A gunshot went off, and Gohan crumpled to the ground. Someone had shot him in the leg, from behind. Gohan grabbed his leg, and he barely had time to curse whoever shot him when a large, bald brute jumped him.

Nappa punched Gohan in the back several times, then thrust his hands in Gohan's pockets.

"Got his gun, Vegeta!" Nappa shouted.

"Good!" Vegeta said. "Now take care of his horse!"

Gohan was face-down in the dirt, but he could still hear Nappa fire a gunshot. Icarus whinnied, then fell down to the ground, dead.

Gohan cursed loudly, as he tried to get back to his feet. His right leg was bleeding, and he couldn't put too much pressure on it without great pain.

"Well, shoot," Vegeta said. "Gohan, it looks like you're all alone in the abandoned part of town, with a broken leg and a dead horse. How are you gonna get back home?"

"You're gonna pay for this, Wild Vegeta," Gohan promised. "You mark my words."

Vegeta grinned. "Nappa, bring the girl," he said.

"Right away, Boss," Nappa said.

"The girl?" Gohan asked. "You mean...Videl?"

"GOHAN!" a shrill voice cried.

"Videl!" Gohan cried.

Nappa stepped into view, carrying a squirming Videl on his shoulder. Her legs and arms were tied together with rope, so she looked like a lassoed steer.

"Let go of me!" Videl said. "Put me down this instant!"

"You put her down!" Gohan said.

Vegeta's evil grin widened. "Well, I _was_ going to kill her in front of you, but I think you have a good idea. Nappa, put the girl down."

"Where?" Nappa asked.

"On the train tracks," Vegeta said.

* * *

Vegeta and his partner taunted Gohan a bit more, then they rode off to rob a stagecoach. Gohan swore he'd get revenge on those two varmints, just as soon as his leg was healed.

"Gohan, get me outta here!" Videl cried from the train tracks.

"I'm coming!" Gohan grunted. "They shot my leg, so I can't move real fast."

"Just hurry!" Videl said.

Gohan dragged his lame leg another foot. "What's the big rush?" he asked. "It's not like there's a..."

*PHWOOOOP!* went the whistle of a nearby train.

"...train coming..." Gohan finished.

"GOHAAAAAAAN!" Videl screamed.

Gohan tried running, but his leg wouldn't cooperate. He furiously worked out the math in his head. _If a train is going from Denver to Albuquerque at a rate of 50 MPH, and Gohan is moving towards Videl at a rate of 1 foot per 5 seconds, which one arrives first?_

You didn't have to be a mathematical genius like Gohan to realize there was no way he could get to Videl before the train. He was still fifty feet away, at least, and at his current speed, it would take over four minutes to get there.

Gohan clenched his teeth in frustration. He had to save Videl! But he couldn't...it was impossible...it was...

Something snapped inside Gohan, and for a second, everything went white. His hair flew up to the top of his head, changing to the color gold as it did so.

Gohan had become the world's first Super Saiyan Cowboy.

"Yeeha!" Gohan cried, as he flew towards Videl. He picked her up and flew her aside, three seconds before the train would have crushed her.

"Gohan, you saved—what happened to your eyes? And your hair?" Videl asked.

Gohan felt the top of his head. His hair was spiky and standing up straight.

"Shoot, now I'm gonna have t'git a new hat," Gohan said, untying the knots that held Videl captive. Once the ropes fell down, she hugged him.

"Oh, Gohan, this town is a terrible place," she said. "Bandits and thugs everywhere! I hate it! I want to go back to St. Louis, where it's safe!"

Gohan frowned at her. Hercule City might be a rough place, but it was Gohan's home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play.

"This isn't the place for discouraging words, Videl," Gohan said, putting her down gently. "We'll talk later, okay? I have some bandits to catch."

* * *

Two armed guards named Tien and Chaotzu sat outside the stagecoach which contained 90% of the town's money. They were determined to protect the US Treasury Funds, or die trying.

Unfortunately, it looked like they _would_ die trying, when Wild Vegeta Hitchcock and Nappa the Bald attacked. Vegeta shot Tien three times, while Nappa crushed Chaotzu in his mighty arms.

"STOP, FIENDS!" a voice shouted.

"What the—?" Vegeta asked.

"It's...it's Gohan!" Nappa cried.

Super Saiyan Cowboy Gohan flew towards the two bandits. "That's right, Vegeta and Nappa! I'm here to stop you two! Take that!"

Gohan shot two energy attacks at the bandits. They fell off of their horses and landed in the dirt.

"Hey, unfair!" Nappa complained. "You can't use energy attacks in a Wild West story!"

"I can do whatever I want," Gohan said. "I'm the hero."

With that, he charged up a Kamehameha attack and let it fly right at Nappa.

* * *

Three days later, Gohan was riding alone in the desert, on his new horse. Too much had happened recently; he needed time to be alone and think.

Gohan pulled out his guitar and began to sing a song.

_Yippie-ki-yay  
Yippie-ki-yo  
Things are all right in my home_

_Yo-diddley-oh,  
You-diddley-ooo,  
But loneliness still eats at my heart_

_Peace and quiet are swell,  
But they cannot tell  
How a man should live his life._

_Do I long for the wide-open prairie?  
Do I long for a life of my own?  
Do I long for life with another?  
Where can I find my home?_

"Hey there, Cowboy," a voice said.

Gohan looked up, to see Videl riding alongside him.

"Howdy, ma'am," Gohan said, tipping his hat.

The two of them rode in silence for a moment.

"So?" Videl asked at last.

"So what?"

"I heard the mayor offered to make you the sheriff. Are you going to accept the job?"

"I...I don't rightly know," Gohan said. "It depends on you."

"Me?" Videl asked. "Why me?"

"Are you going back to St. Louis?" Gohan asked.

"Why, I...what does it matter?" she asked.

"It doesn't, I guess...only I was thinking...ah, forget it," Gohan said.

"Listen, Cowboy," Videl said. "This relationship isn't going to work if you can never tell me how you're feeling."

Gohan chuckled. "You city girls sure are straightforward," he said. "But sometimes feelings ain't as simple as all that."

Videl was silent for a moment.

"You wanna know how I feel?" she asked. "I want to go back home to St. Louis. The people there were nicer, the food was better, and I feel more at home there. Here, I just feel sad and alone, all the time."

She gestured to the harsh landscape, which had no trees in sight for miles.

"It's lonely out here, Cowboy. And as long as I stay here, I'm going to be lonely, too."

"It's a lonely world," Gohan said harshly.

"I'm not finished," Videl said. "It's lonely out here, but I get the feeling that, no matter where I go, it's going to be lonely if you're not there with me."

Gohan sighed. "I don't like talkin' 'bout my feelings, City Girl, but I reckon you might be right."

The two of them rode in silence for a moment.

"So what do you think?" Videl asked at last.

"Let's go to St. Louie," Gohan said. "I ain't gonna leave your side no matter what, and there's not much left for me here, anyway."

"Whatever you say, cowboy," Videl said.

Gohan and Videl rode off into the sunset together.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I kind of wonder what would have happened if I continued the story as a Victorian romance, though...perhaps a sequel is in order?

In any case, tomorrow, things are going to get back to normal. And by "normal", I mean Videl is going to attempt to kill Gohan, because she thinks he's an undead beast. Stay tuned for "Monster Mash"!


	4. Videl the Vampire Slayer

**Author's Note: **The prompt for today was "Monster". Technically, they said "Monster Mash", but that conjures up images of Halloween, and to be honest, there are enough Gohan/Videl Halloween stories, anyway.

* * *

_His smoldering eyes glistened with concern as they swept across my face. I wanted to melt in the eyes of Eddy, the incredibly handsome vampire with smoldering eyes. He is also incredibly handsome. And a vampire. With smoldering eyes._

"OMG, this is _so romantic!_" Erasa said, clutching a copy of Half Past Four to her chest.

"Ugh, are you reading those trashy werewolf stories again?" Videl asked. "Those books are so stupid!"

"They're _vampire_ stories, thank you very much," Erasa huffed. "And they are the most romantic stories ever written."

"Whatever," Videl said. "I didn't ask you to come here so we could talk about vampires. I asked you to come here so we can talk about Saiyaman."

"Are you _still_ harping on him?" Erasa said. "Look, he doesn't want anyone to know who he really is. Can't you just leave it at that?"

"I _have_ to know who he is," Videl said. "For...security reasons. What if there's an emergency and I need to contact him? I can't do that unless I know who he is."

"You have a crush on him, don't you?" Erasa asked.

"I do not!" Videl said angrily. "I want to unmask that twerp and get him kicked out of town for trying to steal my job!"

"Oh, so you have an anti-crush on him!" Erasa said. "They talk all about those in my book!"

"Whatever," Videl said again. "So who do you think at our school is secretly Saiyaman?"

"Let me think," Erasa said. "Uh, NOBODY? He's a SaiyaMAN, and we're all just teenagers."

"Suspect #1," Videl said, ignoring her friend's comments, "is Gohan Son. He's the most suspicious person in our class right now."

"Suspicious?" Erasa asked. "How so?"

"He can jump twenty feet in the air, for one thing," Videl said. "And he eats way too much."

"He's a guy. Guys eat a lot."

"Plus, I've never seen him get hurt, not even when Sharpner threw a fastball at his head. Finally, Gohan is always leaving in the middle of class to go to the bathroom."

"Ew, that's too much information," Erasa said. "But doesn't that make sense? I mean, maybe he goes to the bathroom a lot because he eats so much."

"Then how can he fly in the air and not get hurt?" Videl asked.

"I dunno, maybe he does boxing in free time," Erasa said.

"Or maybe he's got superpowers, like Saiyaman does! Because he's secretly Saiyaman!"

"Or _maybe_ he's a vampire!" Erasa said.

"What?" Videl asked.

"It's all in my book!" she said. "Vampires can fly, right? And you can't hurt them unless they're sleeping! And they eat way more than normal humans do! It all fits!"

"Gohan is _not_ a vampire," Videl said.

"Oh, what, you think he's a superhero?" Erasa asked. "What's more likely: Gohan is a vampire, or Gohan is Saiyaman?"

Videl thought for a moment. "Vampire," she said. "But I'm not going to believe either one without more proof."

Erasa grinned. "I'll give you all the proof you need."

* * *

The next day at school, the two girls caught sight of Gohan, then ducked behind the row of lockers.

"Okay, vampires can't see their own reflections, right?" Erasa asked.

"Right," Videl said.

"So we have to get him to look in a mirror," she said, pulling out a small compact mirror.

"Fine. We ambush him on three," Videl said. "One...two...Erasa!"

Erasa wasn't paying attention; she was busy adjusting her makeup in the compact mirror.

"Huh? What?" Erasa asked. "If he's a hunky vampire, I want to make sure I look good! Hunky vampires are _sooo _romantic!"

"Just start with the mirror already," Videl groaned.

"Okay!" Erasa said. She ran out and shoved the mirror into Gohan's face. "HEY GOHAN! WHAT'S UP?" she yelled.

The glare from the overhead lights reflect off of the mirror, right into Gohan's eyes. "Augh!" he cried, putting his hand over his eyes.

"He doesn't want to look in the mirror," Videl noted.

"Ow, what are you doing?" Gohan asked. "That—"

"Do you like my new mirror, Gohan?" Erasa asked, feigning innocence.

"No!" Gohan said.

"Did you at least like what you _saw_ in the mirror?" Videl asked.

"What, are you crazy?" Gohan asked, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't see anything at all in the mirror!"

"_I knew it!_" Erasa said, swinging her hand around. "Gohan's a—mmmph!"

"Heh heh," Videl said, her hand on Erasa's mouth. "Please ignore her, Gohan. We gotta go. See ya!"

Videl and Erasa ran off.

"That was weird," Gohan said.

* * *

"Test #2," Erasa said. "My book says that all vampires are super hunks."

"Which means Gohan isn't a vampire," Videl concluded.

"Maybe he's secretly a hunk," Erasa said. "And that's why he goes to the bathroom so often!"

"What does going to the bathroom have to do with being a hunk?" Videl asked.

"Duh, he's not _really _going to the bathroom," Erasa said. "He just goes there to style his hair. I mean, look at his hairdo! He probably uses _tons_ of hair gel."

"Okay, I admit you're right about the hair gel thing," Videl said. "But if he's a vampire, and he can't see himself in a mirror, how does he style his hair?"

"There's only one way to find out," Erasa said, pulling out a large slurpee.

"This isn't the time for a drink, Erasa!" Videl said.

"Trust me, this is all part of my master plan," Erasa said. "Watch and learn."

Erasa walked up to Gohan, with Videl not too far behind.

"Hey, Gohan!" Erasa said. "Sorry about this morning. I got you slurpee to make up for it! Do you want some?"

"Oh, hey, that's really nice of you, Erasa," Gohan said, reaching for the slurpee. "I didn't—woah!"

Erasa pretended to slip, and she spilled the slurpee all over Gohan's shirt.

"Oops! Sorry!" she said.

"Oh no, you ruined my shirt!" Gohan said.

"Gee, I'm sorry," Erasa said, putting her hands together. "Guess you'd better take your shirt off, then!"

"Yeah, I guess," Gohan said. He pulled off his shirt, revealing his well-defined chest muscles.

"Oh, _wow!_" Erasa said.

Videl raised her eyebrows. She was used to seeing big, muscular guys in her father's gym, but it was still a surprise seeing them on Gohan.

"I'd better get the extra shirt in my locker," Gohan said. "Thanks for buying me a slurpee, Erasa."

Gohan walked off.

"Okay, he is _definitely_ a hunky vampire," Erasa said.

"You're drooling," Videl said, rolling her eyes. "But just because he works out a lot doesn't mean he's a vampire."

"What _more_ will it take to convince you?" Erasa asked.

Videl grinned. "Test #3," she said.

* * *

Our two teenagers were ready to proceed with the third and final test.

"Vampires hate garlic," Videl said, putting the plate full of garlic bread that she held in her hand.

"Right," Erasa said.

"And we know that Gohan loves food," Videl said. "So if I offer him some garlic bread and he _doesn't_ eat it, we know something's fishy."

"That's a really good idea," Erasa said. "Let's go!"

The two girls walked up to Gohan.

"Hey, Gohan, I got some garlic bread," Videl said. "You want some?"

"Sure!" Gohan said. He put a piece in his mouth.

"Sorry about the slurpee accident," Erasa said.

"Thaff—" Gohan said, then swallowed. "I mean, that's okay. It's not—mmmph! Euuughk!"

The garlic bread accidentally went down the wrong tube, and Gohan started choking.

"Hack! Ah! Ooowaugh!" Gohan said, hitting his chest a few times.

"Is everything okay, Gohan?" Videl asked.

"Um...yeah...it's fine," Gohan said. "I just...I don't want any more garlic bread, that's all."

Gohan walked away quickly, trying to escape from the two girls. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear that they were trying to kill him!

"Okay," Erasa said. "It's official. He hates garlic, he's a superhunk, _and_ he doesn't have a reflection."

"Not to mention the fact that he can fly," Videl said. "Sort of, anyway. I call a ten-second twenty-foot jump flying."

"This is _perfect!_" Erasa said. "Now I get to have a superhunky vampire _boyfriend!_ Eeeeee!"

"Erasa, you're not supposed to _date_ vampires!" Videl said.

"You're not?" Erasa asked.

"No," Videl said, pulling out a mallet and stake. "You're supposed to kill them."

**[Insert dramatic music here.]**

* * *

Gohan was on top of the school roof, ready to transform into Saiyaman and fly home, when Videl and Erasa stepped forward.

"ACK! Videl! Erasa! Hi!" Gohan said.

"We know your secret, Gohan," Erasa said.

"My...my secret? I don't know what you're talking about!" Gohan lied.

"You're a vampire, aren't you?" Videl accused.

"I'm not the Great Saiya—wait, vampire?"

"A super _hot_ vampire, with smoldering eyes!" Erasa said, dreamily.

"Focus, Erasa," Videl said. "We have to kill Gohan."

_"Kill?"_ Gohan asked.

"I'm going to drive a stake through your heart," Videl said. "It's the only way to kill a vampire."

"Woah woah woah!" Gohan said. "Aren't you going a little overboard here? I mean, I'm not a vampire! I'm just a normal teenager! You don't have to kill me!"

"Ha!" Videl said. "You can't fool me! You're a centuries-old monster, _disguised_ as a normal teenager! You came here looking for new victims to kill!"

Gohan was starting to get panicked, but he took comfort in the fact that he could always fly away if this situation got out of control.

"Be reasonable," Gohan said. "If I was a centuries-old monster, why on Earth would I _ever_ want to go to high school?"

"You know, he's got a point," Erasa said. "Being stuck as a high schooler for the rest of eternity is enough to make _anyone_ stop being a vampire."

"I don't care," Videl said. "We have to kill him, or he could destroy the entire town! It's my job as the city's protector to kill Gohan!"

"But he's a superhunk!" Erasa said. "Can't I have just _one_ superhunk boyfriend without you ruining it?"

"NO!" Videl said.

"I agree with Erasa!" Gohan said. "You don't have to kill me! This is just a misunderstanding!"

"You stay out of this!" Videl ordered. "Erasa, you can't fall in love with a vampire! That's just asking for trouble!"

"He's won me over with his hunky ways!" Erasa said. She hugged Gohan. "Kiss me, lover boy!"

"What—MMPFH!" Gohan said, as Erasa planted her mouth on his. Gohan's hands flew about wildly as Erasa tried to deepen the kiss.

Finally, Erasa pulled back.

_"What the _[bad word]_ did you do that for?"_ Gohan demanded.

"Something's wrong," Erasa said. "He's not a vampire."

"He's not?" Videl asked.

"All vampires are good kissers," Erasa said. "And that was the worst kiss ever."

Gohan was openly crying now. "Mom is going to kill me! Oh, I feel so _dirty_ now! Why, Dende? WHY?"

"Maybe he was faking it," Videl said. "I'd better double-check."

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" Gohan screamed. "Get away! Get away! _Don't come any closer!_"

"Sheesh, no need to freak out, Gohan," Videl said. "I'm just trying to figure out whether or not I should kill you. No big deal."

"MOMMY! I want Yo Gabba Gabba cheese slices!" Gohan cried, hugging his legs.

"Wow," Videl said. "I think you _literally_ blew his mind with that kiss."

"Gee, I didn't mean to make him go crazy," Erasa said. "I just wanted to see if he was a vampire."

Videl shrugged. "Well, now that we know Gohan's _not_ a vampire, I guess we can leave him alone."

"Right," Erasa said. "Who's next on your list of Great Saiyaman suspects?"

The two girls went down the stairs back into school, making plans to investigate Videl's second suspect. Eventually, Gohan regained his sanity and went back home.

He later decided to pretend the whole day never happened.


	5. The Mystery of Videl

**Author's Note:** The prompt for today was "detective". I wanted to make it a story about Gohan solving the mystery that is Videl, but it ended in a completely different place than I expected.

* * *

_From the diary of Gohan Son:_

Videl is a complete mystery to me.

Everyone in high school likes me, except her. When I first came to Orange Star, everyone was so nice and friendly to me, and I was beginning to think that life in the city wasn't going to be so bad.

Then I met her.

Instead of introducing herself, she just glared at me. All she ever does is glare. I hate that glare. It makes me feel...puny. Insignificant. Like she hates me for even existing. Like she can't stand the fact that a rich and famous person like her has to put up with a nobody like me.

Sometimes, I want to tell her the truth about Cell, just to wipe the glare off of her face. Guess what, Videl? Your dad is a big phony! So you can stop acting like you're better than everyone else, just because your dad is famous.

It wouldn't bug me so much, except she's the only person here who hates me. Everyone else is super nice, except Videl. Why does she hate me so much?

I mean, it's not like I've done anything mean to her! I've been really nice to her! Or at least, I've been _trying_ to be nice to her. It's tough to be nice to a mean person.

Really, I don't think I've said more than ten words to her. That's not enough to make someone hate you, right? All I said was, "I live in the 439 district." But she just went off on that and started accusing me of having a secret means of transportation.

She's _right_, of course, but that's still overly suspicious, and it's not a good reason to hate someone.

Maybe I'll try being extra-nice to her tomorrow. That will convince her I'm not a bad guy...right?

* * *

Okay, Videl has gone off the deep end.

I tried being nice to her today. I said her shirt looked nice, and she just glared at me. But I didn't give up! I said her pigtails look nice too.

Why do they call them "pigtails", anyway? They don't look anything like pig tails. I mean, they're not even curly! They're more messy than anything else.

Videl just glared at me some more, and she said if I didn't stop hitting on her, she would tell the principal. I told her I was just trying to be nice, because she's kind of...well...I didn't finish my sentence.

I think I made things worse.

But one of my friends helped! Sort of. Erasa, that's the girl in class who _doesn't_ hate me, tried to make me feel better. She said Videl was just in a bad mood because of a Gold Fighter guy.

It took me a while to realize that they were talking about _me_, in Super Saiyan Form. Yesterday, when I was going to school, I saw some guys who were robbing a bank, so I turned Super Saiyan and stopped them. No big deal, right? Anyone else would have done the same thing, I bet.

Well, apparently, it was all over the news last night, and people were talking about the new superhero. I don't want to be a hero. I just want to be me. Plain old normal Gohan. I have enough trouble fitting in without having to save the town every day.

Videl started questioning me about the Gold Fighter, just like she did about me living far away from school. What is _with_ that girl? Does she always interrogate the people she knows? Or does she just really, really hate me?

But that's not why Videl is crazy.

When I tried to leave school today, she followed me. No matter where I went, she chased after me. Isn't that the creepiest thing ever? All just because I live a little far away from school.

It's like she thinks she's entitled to know everything there is about my life, just because she's famous. Although she's not really _that_ famous, because I've never heard of her before.

I dunno. Maybe she's just like her father, and when she sees something new or different, she just says, "Oh, that's a trick! It's not real!".

Why can't she try to get along with me, instead of automatically rejecting me? It's not nice to reject someone before you get to know him.

* * *

Today, I learned why Videl is so obsessed with the Gold Fighter.

And it's a really stupid reason.

Videl apparently thinks she's Catwoman, and she tries to stop criminals on her own. So that's why she hates the Gold Fighter. She's jealous that someone managed to stop the bank robbers before she did.

How selfish is that? She's mad, because she thinks she's the only person who's allowed to stop criminals! Well, you know what? Fine. I'll _let_ her fight all the criminals she wants to. See if I care when she ends up in the hospital.

Jeez, how stupid can you get, anyway? She doesn't have bulletproof skin like I do. If she's not careful, she could get killed.

It's like her dad, Hercule. He was too stupid to realize how dangerous it was for him to fight Cell, and she's the exact same way.

I still don't see why she hates me. She doesn't know I'm the Gold Fighter, after all, and you can bet that she's never going to find out, either. If I ever turn Super Saiyan in town again, she'll never let me hear the end of it, even though it's really none of her business.

She followed me when I was leaving school again today. It's a good thing I can move faster than normal humans can see, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to escape this obsessed maniac.

I'm pretty sure that, deep down, Videl is a jerk, just like her father. I'll try to keep an open mind, but unless I absolutely _have_ to deal with her, it's probably best to avoid her. That way, she won't glare at me like she hates me, and she won't try to interrogate me over stupid things.

* * *

Well, you can forget what I said yesterday. Ignoring Videl doesn't work. She followed me after school _again_ today. This time, she was only about three feet away, the whole time. Eventually, I just turned around and yelled at her.

"Leave me alone, Videl!" I said.

Of course, she just glared at me. "No," she said, like she gets to decide what's right and what's wrong. "I want to find out how you get to and from school every day."

"That's none of your business, you crazy stalker!" I said.

"If you'd just _tell _me, I wouldn't have to stalk you," she said. Like it's _my_ fault she's insane.

I decided to turn the tables on her. I leaned over her and started glaring. Sometimes, it's good to be tall.

"Look, I get that you hate me, okay?" I said. "You probably hate everyone who isn't rich and famous like you. But you still have no right to tell me what to do! Now leave me alone!"

She just glared back at me. "You're wrong," she said.

"About what?" I asked.

"About everything," she said.

"Great. Thanks for the info," I said. "Now go away and leave me alone."

"No," she said.

So I pushed her aside and went home.

I don't think I'll go to school again, tomorrow. I have better things to do than get bullied by the daughter of the world's biggest jerk. I know Mom insisted that I spend time with kids my own age, but I think it'd be better if I went to college instead, like I originally planned. Hopefully the people there will be more mature.

* * *

Well, Mom said there is NO WAY that she'll let me switch schools, not after she worked SO HARD to get me to go to this one, and blah blah blah blah blah.

So instead, I went to see the principal.

"What's wrong, Gohan?" he asked. "Are you having trouble fitting in here?"

"No, everything's fine," I said. "It's just that one of the students is bullying me."

"Bullying?" he asked.

"She follows me everywhere I go, and she won't stop asking me questions. _Personal _questions. I've tried asking her to stop, but she won't. It's making me feel really uncomfortable."

"Hmmm, well, I'll make sure to have a talk with this woman. Who is she?"

"Videl Satan," I said.

The principal's hands shook. "Videl? Are you sure? She's one of our top students!"

"She's a stuck-up jerk!" I said. "And she thinks that just because she's famous, she can do whatever she wants!"

"But...she's always helping the police catch criminals!"

"I know that, but she really hates me!" I said.

The principal just stared at me, like he couldn't believe I would _ever_ say anything bad about Videl.

"Please," I said. "Just ask her to leave me alone. I can't take her following me all the time."

"Well...I'll look at her file," he said. Oh, wow. Her file? Really? That's showing some effort there, Mr. Principal.

I wasn't happy when I left the office, because I figured the principal was too scared to do anything. She was probably threatening him, too. She probably threatened all the kids in school for years, and she got away with it, too. Just because her family was _famous_. Famous for something _I_ did! She'd be a nobody if it wasn't for me!

It's like Frankenstein, or something. I created the monster that is torturing me.

But believe it or not, the principal called her to his office. I know this, because he called her on the school intercom. She left class for twenty minutes, then came back without saying a single word to anyone.

Oh, wait. She _did_ say something. Three tiny words.

"You're dead, Gohan."

* * *

Fortunately, I was prepared when school ended, and she grabbed my backpack before I could leave.

"What is your problem?" she asked. "Calling the principal on me? Really?"

"What is _your_ problem?" I asked back. "I never did _anything_ to you!"

She glared, but by now, I'm used to it. "My _problem _is that, thanks to you, I'm now on probation!"

"Probation?" I asked. The best news I heard all day!

"Just because I've sent Sharpener to the nurse's office a couple of times doesn't mean I'm a bully," she said. Um, news flash Videl: Yes, it does.

"If you tell on me again, I'll make sure you regret it," she said.

"Oh, really?" I said. "And just _how_ will you do that?"

"I'm the strongest woman in the city, and I've been a professional fighter for six years," she said. "I'm sure I can think of something."

"Good," I said.

"Good?" she asked.

I pulled the tape recorder out of my pocket. "I'm sure this will convince the principal that you're still threatening me, even _after_ he took disciplinary action."

She glared at me, then shot her hand out at the tape recorder. She was fast, but I was faster. I quickly put the recorder down on the table and slid it away.

"GIVE THAT TO ME!" she demanded, trying to climb over me to reach the recorder.

"No!" I said, trying to push her off.

"All right, you lovebirds, get your hands off of each other!" the teacher demanded. I shuddered. As if I could ever love a girl like Videl. She is definitely _not_ my type. I prefer girls who _aren't_ a foot shorter than me, you know? Also, girls who aren't crazy.

To make a long story short, I turned the tape recording over to the principal's office. And we got a call, later that night, saying my parents and I had to come to school early the next day, for a special meeting with the principal and Videl's family.

I told Mom about the entire situation, and she's even more furious than I am about Hercule becoming a millionaire, because _I _defeated Cell. Those rich goons had better look out tomorrow, because Chi-Chi Son is now on the case.

* * *

Well.

We met in the Principal's Office today. Videl was there, along with her father, Hercule. He was a lot worse than I remember him from the Cell Games. I guess seven years of having the world worship you really makes your ego fly out of control.

He started out by shaking his fist at me and yelling something like, "So you're the punk who's been telling lies about my daughter! I oughta deck you a new one!"

"Gee, I see where Videl gets it from," I said. What idiot goes to a meeting about bullying and starts out by threatening someone?

"Mr. Hercule, please!" the principal said. "We need to discuss things in a calm, organized matter."

"Calm, my foot!" Hercule said. "The way I understand it, he's trying to get my Videl kicked out of school! I won't stand for it! I'm the man who saved the world, and this no-good runt is-"

"Dad, calm down," Videl said, glaring at her father. He shut up and sat down.

...Maybe Videl isn't that bad, after all.

"I called this meeting so the two of you could hopefully work out your differences," the principal said. "I've always found that talking about your problems is much more effective than fighting over them. So?"

"So what?" I asked.

"So, explain the problem," he said.

"That's easy," Mom said. "Both Videl and her father have no self control, because they've been glutted by our celebrity-obsessed society. They need to rejoin reality."

"These two rednecks are jealous of me!" Hercule said.

"Gohan's hiding some kind of secret, and he refuses to tell me what it is," Videl said.

I sighed. Yeah, _this_ conversation is going to work.

"Videl won't stop hassling me with her questions," I said.

"That's because you never _answer_ my questions!" she said.

"What exactly _are_ these questions?" the principal asked.

"Simple," Videl said. "How do you get to school, when you live so far away?"

"Um, let me see, he takes the _train?_" Mom said. "You know, the big thing that moves really fast? Have you heard of that before?"

"Don't make fun of my daughter!" Hercule ordered.

"If she's too stupid to figure out that someone can use a train to commute, she _deserves_ to be made fun of," Mom said. "Then again, considering she has half of _your_ genes, it's no wonder she's a moron!"

Hercule started ranting like a maniac, and Mom yelled right back at him. It was shaping up to be one productive meeting.

"Why did they have to invite our parents?" I wondered. I guess I must have said it out loud, because Videl said, "I don't know." She looked kind of embarrassed at her dad's behavior.

One more, I was struck by the idea that maybe she isn't as bad as I originally thought. But then again, sitting next to her dad, _anyone_ looks like a good person, even Cell.

"Well, that takes care of the first question," the principal said loudly, trying to talk over our parents. "What's the next one?"

Videl's eyes narrowed. "Why do you have the same clothes as the Gold Fighter?"

"Ha!" Hercule said. "Explain _that_, Twerp! We know that you're secretly the Gold Fighter!"

"I got these from a department store," I said. "They had twenty other outfits just like it. Any other brilliant questions, Einstein?"

"Yeah!" Hercule said. "I heard that you were in gym class, and you jumped twenty feet in the air! Then you took a fastball to the head! Why didn't you get hurt?"

"The only person around here with a thick head is you!" Mom snapped.

I closed my eyes and sighed. This was the question I was dreading. I went over this with Bulma, and even _she _ couldn't think of a good enough excuse.

...Which meant the only other thing I could do was tell the truth.

I stood up. Might as well make this dramatic.

"I didn't get hurt, because I have superpowers," I said. "I'm the Gold Fighter."

I powered up to Super Saiyan. "Remember me, Hercule?"

The look on the big lug's face was priceless. I think he actually wet his pants in fear. "The delivery boy!" he said. "The one who killed Cell!"

"Killed Cell?" Videl asked.

"Thank you for explaining," I said. "You see, Videl, your father didn't really kill Cell. _I_ did. He's been lying to everyone for years now."

"Please don't hurt me," Hercule said. He threw himself on the ground and started weeping. "PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I didn't mean to lie, I swear! I'll give back all the money I made off of you, I promise!"

Videl looked shocked. "But Dad-" she said.

I powered back down to normal level. "So, Videl. You know my big secret. Are you happy now?"

"I...I..."

Mom put her hand on my shoulder. "Good job, son," she said. "You put these two in their place."

"I tried to warn you," I said. "I told you to leave me alone, that you didn't need to find out my secret. But you just had to keep pushing me, didn't you?"

"This...this is impossible!" Videl said, looking from me to her dad. "Isn't it?"

"And if you bother me again, I'll release this information publicly," I said, turning around to leave. "Let's see what life is like for you after you have your mansion taken away."

Mom followed after me. As she shut the door behind her, I could hear the principal say, "Oh...well...it looks like we've solved our problem! Good job!"

I burst out laughing. "That was great!" I said.

Mom smiled. "Yes," she said. "I can't wait to stop by his mansion later today and collect the money he owes us."

Needless to say, Videl didn't talk to me for the rest of the day.

* * *

It's been a week since my last entry. Mom has collected two million zeni from Hercule, and Videl still hasn't talked to me. I think she's too scared to upset me.

Shame, really. I was just starting to like her. I mean, now that I know she's not a clone of her father. I wonder how I could have ever thought that was the case.

And looking back, I guess I'd have to say that she didn't _hate_ me. She was just...curious. To a completely insane degree.

Oh well. It looks like I won't have to deal with her ever again, which is fine by me. High school is shaping up to be a blast!


	6. A New Member of the Saiyan Royal Family

**Author's Note: **Today's prompt is "Royalty". This story takes place about a year after the end of the Buu Saga, when the next World Martial Arts Tournament is coming up.

* * *

As she soared over the treetops, Videl scowled. She had flown the entire way to Gohan's house, only to find that he wasn't there. The only person there was Goku, who was busy sleeping.

_What a waste of a trip..._ Videl thought to herself.

"Hey! Videl, is that you? Videllllllll!" a voice shouted.

_Or not._

"Oh, wow, it _is_ you! This is great!"

"Hey, Goten. What are you up to?" Videl asked the young boy who had flown to greet her.

"Nothing!" Goten said. "I want to train for the fighting tournament next month, but there's no one here to train with."

"Well, that's too bad..."

"Do you want to train with me? Do you? Do you? Do you?"

Videl laughed. "I'm afraid you're a little too strong for me, Goten. I'm just a beginner, remember?"

"I can teach you all the things Gohan hasn't taught you yet!" Goten insisted. "Like how to do a kamehameha, or how to turn Super Saiyan!"

"Super Saiyan?" Videl asked. "What's that?"

"You haven't seen it before?" Goten asked.

"I've never even _heard_ of it," Videl said.

"Yay!" Goten said, happy to show off a new trick. "Watch me, okay?" He focused his energy, and soon, his hair turned yellow, and he started glowing.

"Oh, that's the Golden Fighter transformation," Videl said. "I've seen _that_ before."

"You have?" Goten said, disappointed that he didn't surprise Videl.

"Yeah. So...what did you say it was called?"

"Super Saiyan!" Goten said.

"I _guess_ that's a pretty cool technique," Videl said. "How do you do it?"

"You focus your energy and do it!" Goten said, not exactly explaining very well. "Try it!"

Videl concentrated and an energy ball appeared in her hands.

"No, don't focus it on your hand," Goten said. "Focus it inside your body. That way the glowy wave things appear."

"Glowy wave things?"

Goten demonstrated how to give off glowy wave things.

"Um...what's the point of that technique?" Videl asked.

"It looks really cool!" Goten said. "And if you do it right, you go Super Saiyan!"

"Okay," Videl said. She focused her energy inside herself, squatting down and bending over like Goten did...and she almost fell over.

Goten laughed.

"Goten! It's not funny!" Videl said.

"Sorry, Videl! But you're not doing it right!"

"Well, tell me how to do it right, then!" Videl said, a little annoyed. "You're supposed to be my teacher, right? Help me out!"

"Well, when Trunks' dad does it, he screams a lot. Like this: 'RRRRRGH! GRRRRRWL! RAAAAAH!' "

"Sounds like a caveman," Videl said.

"Try it!"

"Grrrrrrrrr!" Videl said. She focused her energy inside of herself, like she did when she wanted to fly, except instead of pushing the energy underneath her, she just held onto it.

Goten could feel Videl's energy rising. "Yeah, now just go RAWR! and let it go!"

"RAWR!" Videl said, putting up her hands. The energy she gathered sort of...shot off in all directions. A large energy wave flew out, almost knocking Goten over.

"You did it! Kind of!" Goten said.

"I'm not glowing," Videl said, disappointed.

"But you gave off _one_ energy wave!" Goten said. "You just need to do more!"

Videl sat down and wiped some sweat off her forehead. "Man, I'm tired from that!" she said.

"That's 'cause you fired off all your energy," Goten said. "You gotta keep it with you next time!"

"How do I do that?" Videl asked. "Keep my energy and let it go at the same time?"

"Um...I don't know, but I can do it!" Goten said.

"I'd better save the rest of my energy if I want to get home," Videl said. "But thanks for teaching me, Goten!" She could already think of a few situations where an attack like that could be useful against an unsuspecting enemy.

"I can teach you more!" Goten said. "If you keep trying, I'm _sure_ you'll become a Super Saiyan!"

_And then I'll have a surprise technique to use against Gohan at the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament..._ Videl thought.

"Sure, Goten!" she said. "We can keep training together. Just keep it a secret from Gohan, okay?"

"Uh huh!" Goten nodded. "We wanna surprise him with our secret training, huh?"

Videl laughed. Goten was such a cute kid. "Of course we do!"

* * *

"Hey, Dad!" Goten said. "How do you turn Super Saiyan?"

"Huh?" Goku asked. "Can't you already turn Super Saiyan?"

"Yeah, but I mean, if I want to teach someone how to do it!" Goten said. "Like...Videl! How can I get her to turn Super Saiyan?"

This was Goten's idea of being subtle.

"Well, Videl can't turn Super Saiyan," Goku said. "She's a human. You have to be a Saiyan in order to do it."

"You do?" Goten asked, disappointed.

"Yeah. The transformation is triggered by a response to a need in...huh? Goten? What's wrong?"

"You mean...Videl can't ever be a Super Saiyan?" Goten asked.

"Not unless you wished for it with the dragon balls," Goku said. "Why? What's wrong about Videl and Super Saiyans?"

"Um...nothing!" Goten said. "I was just hoping for a new fighting partner! Gohan says I can't fight Videl, because I'm too strong."

"And you were hoping you could fight her if she could go Super Saiyan?" Goku asked.

Goten nodded.

"Well, hey, I'm sure we could find you a different sparring partner," Goku said. "Have you ever fought Piccolo? He'd help you out."

* * *

_One week later..._

A small figure snuck out of the Son house at midnight, flying a few miles away before landing. He placed seven different balls on the ground in a circle and made the proper incantation.

"Mr. Dragon Person, could you please help me out?" Goten asked.

...Or not.

"Please, Mr. Dragon? I really need your help! Mr. Shenron? You—ah!"

At the sound of his name, the eternal dragon burst forth from the dragon balls. No one nearby noticed, because it was so late.

"What...is...your wish?" Shenron demanded.

"I want Videl to be a Super Saiyan!" Goten said.

"Videl?"

"She's this nice girl who's always hanging around my older brother!" Goten said. "I'm trying to teach her how to be a Super Saiyan, and my dad says she can't do it unless I wish for it with the dragon balls!"

"So...you're wishing for her to be a Saiyan?" Shenron asked.

"Yeah! Make her the most powerful Saiyan, like, ever!"

Shenron closed his eyes. "It is done. What is your second wish?"

"I get a _second_ wish?" Goten asked.

"Yes," Shenron said.

"Can I have a really cool action figure playset?" Goten asked. "Trunks is always bragging about the one he has, and I want one that's cooler than his!"

Poor Shenron was really quite confused about these wishes, but granted them anyway. A large box appeared in front of Goten, then Shenron disappeared and the dragonballs scattered for another year.

"All right!" Goten said. "It's a Z-Fighters Playset! With robotic figurines that act out stuff for you! Trunks is going to be so jealous!"

* * *

When Videl woke up the next morning, she felt different. Stronger. Her muscles were...were they bigger?

_That's weird_, she thought to herself as she got ready.

That's when she noticed something on her waist. A furry, brown thing.

"AAA!" Videl screamed. "Is that a...a _tail?_"

She grabbed it and gave a short tug. She underestimated her new strength, and it came off completely.

"Ow!" she said. "It...huh?"

She looked at the furry thing in her hand.

"It's...removable?"

She turned the furry tail around and looked at it from different angles.

"This is so weird..."

It seemed like she grew a tail overnight. Then again, tails aren't removable, so...was this some sort of joke?

She threw the weird brown thing in the trash. One month later, when nobody mentioned the tail at all, she had completely forgotten about it.

Then again, there were more important things for Videl to focus on, like training for the tournament.

* * *

"RRRRRR! HA!" Videl cried.

Waves of pure energy floated off of Videl, as she was now radiating power at a constant rate.

"Wow, you did it! You're super awesome!" Goten cried. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah!" Videl said. She didn't know why letting off her energy was so _easy_ now. It was like she had an unending reserve of energy! "You're a great teacher, Goten!"

"Thanks!" Goten said.

Videl tried some experimental punches and kicks. They seemed faster and stronger than normal.

"I see what's going on," she said. "It's like going into beserker mode. When you radiate energy, you do more damage, but your energy depletes faster."

"Um...sure!" Goten said, not understanding what she meant. "Now go Super Saiyan!"

"How?"

"Do what you did, but more!"

Videl focused her energy as hard as she could. She could practically _feel_ the air around her crackle with electricity as a huge ball of concentrated energy formed itself around her. The planet itself shook for a moment.

Goten's jaw dropped. She...she was stronger than his dad!

Videl stopped. "Sorry, Goten. I can't do it."

"No, that was great!" he said. "You're like the best fighter ever, except for my brother!"

"I am _not_ the best fighter ever," Videl said. "I'm still learning all of these new fighting techniques you guys have known for years."

"No way! You could probably beat Trunks right now!"

"I could beat Trunks, huh? Then I guess that means...I can beat you!"

Videl flew at Goten, fist outstretched.

"Ah!" Goten cried.

The fight between Goten and Videl was very interesting from a tactical perspective. Videl's fighting instincts and enormous power gave her an edge over the young demi-saiyan, but she wasn't able to handle his energy-based attacks very well. Even when he turned Super Saiyan, she was able to keep up with the fight.

"Ha, is that all you have?" Videl asked, kicking Goten in the side of the head. Goten went rolling on the ground, but used the momentum to get himself back up, then flew at Videl.

"No!" he said, aiming a shot at her head. She dodged to the left, then dodged a follow-up punch from Goten's right hand. Powering up an energy ball in her hand, she blew it up in Goten's side and sent him flying.

"Ha! Gotcha!" she said.

_...I'm beating up my boyfriend's little brother, and I really enjoy it_, Videl thought. _Something is definitely wrong here._

"That's enough," Goten said, powering down to normal. "You fight hard, Videl."

"Yeah, well, you're not too bad yourself," she said.

"You're going to be entering in the tournament, right?" he asked.

"For sure," she said. "This year is _my_ year!"

* * *

Believe it or not, Gohan is actually _in_ this story, and he had no idea that Videl was now a Saiyan. He noticed that her muscles were bigger, of course, but he just figured she was getting in shape for the tournament.

(Plus, he thought it would be really awkward to talk to Videl about her body changing. Good call, Gohan. Good call.)

So Gohan was rather clueless about what was going on with his girlfriend, which was actually kind of normal for him. He liked her, but she certainly confused him at times.

Case in point: The day of the tournament.

"Oh, Gohan, isn't this romantic?" Videl said, grabbing Gohan's arm as they walked through the crowds.

"Romantic?" Gohan asked. "No, I think it's crowded."

"Not the tournament!" Videl said. "I mean today!"

"Saturday?" Gohan asked. "I think Tuesdays are more romantic than Saturdays. Wednesdays, on the other hand, aren't romantic in the slightest."

"You idiot! Don't you know why today is special, _for us?_" Videl asked.

Gohan scratched his head.

"It's our one-year anniversary!" Videl said. "One year ago, we first became a couple!"

"...Not..._really_," Gohan asked. "I mean, I thought we officially became a couple the month after the Buu fiasco."

"I know that," Videl said. "I'm just trying to be romantic for once! Stop being so logical about everything!"

"Um, okay," Gohan said.

* * *

In what would later be called "Gohan's worst nightmare," Videl was pitted against Vegeta in the first round.

The mood in the fighters' room was tense, right before the fight.

"I swear, if you hurt her, Vegeta..." Gohan threatened.

"Hmmph," Vegeta said. "I'm not interested in fighting your weakling _girlfriend_, Gohan. I'm only interested in Kakarrot."

"Weakling?" Videl asked.

"Yes, weakling," Vegeta said. "I know you're pretty strong for a human, Girly, but make no mistake: you will lose this fight!"

"What makes you so sure you'll win?" Videl asked.

"I am the Prince of All Saiyans!" Vegeta said. "No one can defeat a fighter of Royal Blood! Especially not the offspring of such a loud-mouthed fool."

"Just don't break any of her bones," Gohan asked. "I'm begging you."

"Gee, thanks for the confidence, Gohan," Videl said. "Glad to know that my boyfriend supports the other fighter."

"No, that's not it!" Gohan said. "It's...it's...I just don't want a repeat of last year's fight, that's all."

For a few seconds, Videl remembered the brutal fight against Spopovich, which left her hospitalized until Gohan gave her a sensu bean.

"Don't worry," Videl said. "It won't be like last year. I _learn_ from my mistakes."

* * *

"Let's get this over with," Vegeta said. He flew at Videl and elbowed her in the stomach, then swatted her aside, hard enough for her to fall out of the ring.

Only that didn't happen. Videl blocked the blow and counted by kicking the back of Vegeta's leg.

_What the hell was that?_ Vegeta wondered. _No human should be able to block my attacks, much less counter them!_

"Raugh!" Vegeta said, spinning around and jumping in midair to his Videl's stomach. She caught his leg and flung it aside, then sprang forward and starting hitting his head with several quick jabs.

As the fight continued, Vegeta became more and more upset. Not only was this weakling able to keep up with his attacks, but she was able to land several blows. After this went on for three minutes, Vegeta decided that he had to end this fight immediately, as a matter of honor.

Now, before the tournament began, the Z-Fighters agreed not to turn Super Saiyan or use energy attacks. That's why Vegeta charged up a large energy ball and let it fly at Videl. A completely unexpected attack can sometimes do more damage than a stronger, expected attack.

But to Vegeta's surprise, Videl deflected the attack into the sky with a mere swat of her arm.

"You wanna play dirty, huh?" Videl said. "Then take _this!_"

Videl opened up with an energy attack of her own. Vegeta started a similar attack, and the two attacks met each other in the middle of the ring. As Vegeta felt the two balls of energy slowly edge towards him, he pumped more energy into the attack.

Videl's hair flickered gold for a brief moment as she increased her power level, in an attempt to hold her attack steady.

"_No one defeats the Prince of All Saiyans!_" Vegeta yelled.

"Get bent!" Videl said.

"They seem to be using some sort of light attack," the announcer said. "I don't know how this works, or—"

"It's an energy attack, you moron!" Vegeta said.

"I have just been told that this is an energy attack!" the announcer said. "Hopefully, the contestant Vegeta can explain more after he is defeated, because it looks like Videl is winning!"

_I can't lose to a human girl!_ Vegeta thought. He turned Super Saiyan and really let his energy fly. Videl staggered as the two balls of energy flew directly towards her. She regained her footing and managed to stop the energy balls' flight, about half a second before they hit her.

"Vegeta's going to kill her!" Gohan kept saying. "Vegeta's going to kill her!"

Goku frowned. Something was wrong here. How did Videl get this powerful?

_I...I can't lose!_ Videl thought. _I can't let this creep beat me! I have to...I have to...RAAARGH!_

With a huge roar, Videl pushed back. Energy crackled in the air around her, and she began to slowly walk towards Vegeta. Her eyes turned cold as ice, and her hair flew upwards, becoming yellow.

Vegeta gasped. Was she a Super Saiyan? No, impossible!

As Videl came closer, Vegeta threw his attack upwards, in the air, where it wouldn't hurt anyone, then began with intense physical attacks. Videl brushed them all aside, then smashed Vegeta in the side of the head. The Saiyan prince fell to the ground.

"How?" he asked. "This is impossible!"

Videl smiled, and drew back her fist. Vegeta's mind almost snapped, when he remembered something. A few months ago, he was surfing the Internet, trying to find some DragonBall Z Kai episodes, when he came across something called _DragonBall Z: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!_

Intrigued, Vegeta clicked the link. Apparently, this was a Japan-only TV special, where the entire DragonBall Z gang had adventures fighting Vegeta's unknown older sibling. Vegeta scoffed at the plotline when he first heard about it, but now he was having second thoughts about the possibility of him having an unknown relative.

Plus, there _were_ rumors that Vegeta's mother, Queen Vegeta, once had an illicit affair...

"You're my _sister?_" Vegeta gasped. "Impossible! You're too young to be my sister Vegeta!"

"What are you babbling about?" Videl asked.

"No, no...your _mother!_ _She_ must be the one with Saiyan blood!" Vegeta said. "Which makes you my niece!"

Videl hesitated. Did one of her punches knock his brains loose or something?

Vegeta's fists clenched. If he had an older sister, then _she_ was first-in-line to the throne, not him! She would be the princess, and he would be second-in-line! The royal Saiyan lineage was now completely out of sync!

"I will defeat you!" Vegeta said. "I will defeat you and regain my rightful place as heir to King Vegeta's throne! I don't care that you're the Saiyan Princess!"

"Did Vegeta just call her the Saiyan Princess?" Goku gasped from the sidelines.

"I don't believe it!" Gohan said. "But...how else can she go Super Saiyan?"

"Why didn't you notice this _before?_" Piccolo demanded.

"I...I don't know!" Gohan said. "I've never seen her in a _serious_ fight before! All the people we fight don't know how to use energy!"

"Well, they're certainly using energy now!" Goku said, his eyes not moving from the blur that was Vegeta and Videl.

Vegeta's rage drove him onwards, which hurt his fighting technique. He was using too much energy, and he made some sloppy mistakes that he would _never_ make if he was in his right mind. Videl capitalized on these mistakes.

As strange as it sounds, Videl had no idea that she turned Super Saiyan. She didn't understand any part of Vegeta's rant about princesses, and she was too distracted by her new Saiyan instincts. Every time she blocked a punch, or every time she kicked her enemy, she felt her heart jump in an excited way. These feelings were normal for a Super Saiyan, but they were completely new to Videl.

"Is that the best you have?" she taunted. "I thought you were supposed to be one of the universe's best fighters!"

Vegeta screamed like a maniac and started shooting energy blasts in random directions. The people in the stands ducked for cover. Videl just stood in place and laughed at Vegeta's ineffective technique.

After half a minute, Vegeta stopped shooting out energy attacks and started panting.

"Are you done?" Videl asked.

Vegeta growled. "I am seriously beginning to hate you," he said.

"Oh, gee, I'm crushed," Videl said. "So are you going to give up, or am I going to have to pound your head in some more?"

"I will never bow to you, Princess!" Vegeta said. "I still have one more trick up my sleeve. I was _going_ to use this on Kakarott, but..."

"I'm not a princess," Videl said, but Vegeta wasn't paying attention. He was powering up his energy level to an insane degree, way higher than he had ever done before. Vegeta's already-long hair started growing longer...

"Is he doing what I _think_ he's doing?" Gohan asked.

"I think so!" Goku said.

Vegeta had turned into a Super Saiyan 3.

"What the heck?" Videl asked. "What did you just do to your hair?"

"You like it?" Vegeta grinned.

"You look like a caveman," Videl said. "How did you do that? _Why_ did you do that?"

Vegeta rushed Videl. She ducked under his arm and hit him with an uppercut. "No, seriously," she said. "What did you do?"

"You don't even know your own heritage," Vegeta said, giving Videl a series of rapid punches. He was pleased to see that some of them connected. "Disgraceful."

Videl dodged to the side and grabbed Vegeta's humongous hair. Grabbing someone's hair isn't a sportsmanlike thing to do, but it was just too big of a target for her to miss. She flipped the hair over Vegeta's head and into his face.

"HEBLEBH!" Vegeta said. He tried to shout at Videl, but with a mouth full of hair, this was not easy to do.

Videl took advantage of Vegeta's blindness to knock him upside the head and out of the ring.

"And I think Vegeta has landed outside the ring!" the announcer said. "Or at least, his enormous hair has! Now that's _one_ fighter who doesn't have to worry about going bald!"

Vegeta shook his head and flew back in the ring for more fighting.

"Hey, it's over!" Videl said, dodging Vegeta's attacks. "I won. You can give up already!"

"I won't give up until I die!" Vegeta said. "I can't lose to you! I must regain my rightful place as the Saiyan Prince!"

"You're a bigger weirdo than I thought," Videl said. "Nighty night time, okay?"

"What?" Vegeta asked.

Videl did a three-part attack: a hit on the left shoulder, a hit to the right side of the chest, and a powerful chop to the back to the neck, designed to induce unconsciousness. She had perfected this technique after months of fighting criminals.

Vegeta landed face-first on the ground, but he was still conscious. He pushed himself back up, and he was surprised to see Goku standing between him and Videl.

"The match is over," Goku said. "You have to stop now, Vegeta."

"No!" Vegeta said. "Don't you see, Kakarott? This...this _scum_ has stolen my title!"

"What title?" Videl asked. "I didn't take anything from you!"

Goku put his hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "It's okay, Vegeta," he said. Then Goku smiled. "I mean, you haven't been the strongest Saiyan in over fifteen years! You can't get worked up over—"

"SHUT UP, KAKAROTT!" Vegeta said. He powered back down to his normal level and turned around. "I'm leaving," he announced. "If anyone tries to follow me, they'll get seriously injured. Got it?"

"Got it," Goku said.

Videl rolled her eyes. "Okay, it's not like anyone _wanted_ to chase after you anyway, Mr. Sore Loser."

"As for you, Princess Videl—" Vegeta said.

"Stop calling me that!" Videl said.

"—Once this tournament is over, you and I are going to have a very long talk about your family history," Vegeta said. Then he flew off at top speed.

Videl watched Vegeta fly away, and she powered back down to her normal state. "That was weird," she said. "But hey, I won! Let's celebrate!"

"Yeah, congratulations!" Goku said. "I hope I'll get to fight against you in one of the later rounds! It looks like fun...Princess!"

"What the heck is with all this Princess garbage?" Videl asked.

"Um...I'll let Gohan explain," Goku said.

* * *

Videl ended up winning the tournament that year, thanks to the fact that she was now the most powerful Saiyan ever. It took a _lot_ of explaining from Gohan and Goku before Videl understood what seemed to be the truth: she was the long-lost Saiyan Princess.

"A princess, huh?" Videl asked. "So this means you all have to do whatever I tell you to?"

"Um...I guess so," Goku said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that when it comes to Saiyans, the strongest person is the one who's in charge," Gohan said.

Videl smiled. She was going to like this royalty thing.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Tomorrow's prompt is "astronaut".


	7. Z Fighters in Outer Space!

**Author's Note: **Today's prompt is "astronaut", so I decided to make a story about the Z-Fighters having wacky adventures in outer space.

* * *

_Two days after Majin Buu was finally killed, the Z-Fighters gathered together on Kami's Lookout to receive some very bad news._

"What do you mean, DragonBall Z is over?" Goku asked.

"Yeah, this _can't _be the end of the series!" Gohan said. "Videl and I haven't even had our first onscreen kiss yet!"

"I'm sorry, but the series has been cancelled," Dende said. "That's it. The end. No more DBZ."

"Is there anything we can do to stop this?" Piccolo asked. "Maybe our fans could start an online petition?"

"Well...there is _one_ thing we can do," Dende said.

"WHAT?" everyone shouted.

"We can make a spinoff series called _DragonBall GT!_" Dende said. "It'll be just like this show, only you'll be searching for the dragonballs...IN OUTER SPACE!"

"Hooray!" everyone cheered.

* * *

[Insert cheesy theme song.]

_Dragon balls...in outer space!  
Z-Fighters in the whole new place!  
Mars, stars, Milky Way—  
Where they're going, who can say?_

_They could be in orbit—in the stars.  
On a spooky planet—maybe Mars.  
Flying through the atmosphere  
Trying to get back to here!_

_Goku's on a ROCKET DRIVE  
Z-Fighters are BY HIS SIDE  
Krillin is a KOOKY GUY_

_Come along and join the chase!  
It's the Z-Fighters in outer space!_

* * *

_We rejoin our heroes as they continue to fly through outer space, hopelessly lost!_

"Do you realize that it's been seven weeks since we first left Earth?" Gohan asked.

"I wanna go back home!" Krillin cried. "I miss my wife and family!"

"Now, Krillin, it's no time for crying," Goku said. "Besides, it's _your_ fault we're stuck in outer space, anyway."

"Yeah, Krillin," Videl said. "If you hadn't accidentally set off Bulma's spaceship when we were all inside, we'd still be back on Earth. You're such a klutz."

"I am _not_ a klutz!" Krillin said. He shook his fist angrily at Videl, and accidentally hit one of the many buttons on the wall. The ship started spinning out of control.

"Whoops!" Krillin said.

Annoyed, Piccolo pulled some levers and got the spaceship to stop spinning. "I think you just set us off course, _again!_"

"Yeah," Goku said, pointing to the spaceship's main screen. "Look at that planet! I don't think it was there before!"

"Oh NO!" Gohan said. "We're headed straight for an unknown planet...just like in the last five episodes!"

_Will our heroes survive on this new planet? What kind of creatures live there? Is Kirllin ever going to stop being a klutz? We'll find out soon!_

* * *

_The Z-Fighters land on the planet and step outside. On this totally crazy planet, the trees are __purple__! How crazy is that? That's the sort of wackiness you can expect to find in outer space!_

"I wonder if there's a dragonball on this planet," Goku said.

"Dad, there are over a hundred billion planets in the known universe," Gohan said. "The odds of us being on a planet with one of the seven dragonballs is—"

"Oh, wow, the dragon radar says there's one about five miles from here!" Goku said. "What a fortunate coincidence!"

"What are we waiting for?" Videl said. "Let's go!"

* * *

_Our heroes go searching for the dragonball, but who has it? Is it a nice, friendly alien? Or is it an evil villain, bent on taking over the universe? _

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" the alien Galdar cried. "The experiment is a complete success! With the power of this dragonball, I will be able to control the universe!"

_Uh oh! It looks like an evil villain! Just like in the last five episodes! I wonder if our heroes will be able to stop him?_

* * *

"Wow, this sure is a strange planet," Gohan said. All the aliens on this planet had orange skin, tiny legs, and pointy ears that were one foot tall.

"They look like Santa's elves," Videl said.

"Or like Piccolo!" Krillin said. "Ha ha ha ha!"

"_That's not funny, Krillin!_" Piccolo said.

Two guards with weapons approached the Z-Fighters. "Halt, strangers!" they said. "You are trespassing on our planet!"

"Trespassing?" our heroes asked.

"Consider yourselves under arrest!" the guards said. "We will take you to the king! He will decide what to do with you!"

"What to...gulp..._do_ with us?" Krillin asked.

"Yes. Usually he kills all trespassers, but sometimes he lets them rot in the dungeons," the guard said. "Either way, your fate is sealed! You will not leave this planet alive!"

"OH NO!" our heroes cried. This is bad news!

* * *

"Aliens, huh?" King Galdar asked. "What brings you to the planet Kamen?"

"We came here by accident," Piccolo said. "It was all Krillin's fault."

"Dude, stop blaming me for everything!" Krillin said. "It's Goku's fault, too, you know? He's the worst captain ever!"

"Gee, I wonder if there's any food on this planet?" Goku asked, rubbing his stomach. "I'm hungry!"

_Strange creatures, these Earthlings..._ King Galdar thought.

"Excuse me, your highness," Gohan said. "But we're looking for the black star dragonballs. We think there's one in the palace here. Can we see it?"

"So, you came here to steal my dragonball, eh?" Galdar said. "GUARDS! Throw them into the dungeons!"

"WAUGH! AUGH! NO!" Krillin cried. "Not the dungeons! I'm allergic to dungeons!"

"Cool it, Krillin!" Videl said. "I'm sure we can fight our way out of here!"

_Guards poured into the room, and our heroes starting fighting! It was exciting! It was fun! Nobody noticed that we reused the fighting animation from the last five episodes! But in the end, our heroes were thrown...in the dungeons!_

"OH NO!" our heroes cried. "This is bad!"

_Oh no, indeed! This is bad for our heroes! And it's about to get worse!_

* * *

"King Galdar!" a guard said. "Should we execute the Earthlings as planned?"

"No," King Galdar said. "This is the perfect opportunity to test the power of the dragonball! I will use it to defeat these strangers!"

"Pardon me for asking, but _what_ power?" the guard asked.

"It's simple," Galdar said, holding up a control box. "I use the dragonball to power this device. And when I use it on someone..."

A beam shot out of the device and hit the guard. The guard doubled in size.

"I can make people grow or shrink!" he said. "With this device, I can conquer the universe!"

* * *

_Our heroes were trapped in the dungeon, bemoaning their fate._

"Bemoan, bemoan!" Krillin bemoaned.

_But then our heroes were led to the fighting arena, where a huge crowd was gathered._

"Earthlings!" King Galdar said. "I have decided to give you your freedom!"

"Hooray!" our heroes cheered.

"_If_ you can defeat our planet's top five fighters, that is! They haven't lost a match in ten years!"

"Five of us, and five of them," Videl said. "Sounds like a fair fight. Who are these fighters?"

Galdar smiled. "Oh, Ginyu Force!" he called.

"GINYU FORCE, ASSEMBLE!" Captain Ginyu shouted. "Juice! Butter! Recon! Lameo! Let's go!"

"My name's Guildo!" Guildo said.

"No one cares," Captain Ginyu said.

"Hey, didn't we kill you guys already?" Goku asked.

"Round Two, losers!" Recoome said. "You're going to be crushed this time!"

"I call the short one," Videl said.

"Be careful," Gohan warned. "He can freeze time!"

"What's so important about—"

*FREEZE!*

_Guildo froze time, then ran to Videl. He pulled out a marker and drew a mustache on her face. Then he went back to where he was standing and unfroze time._

*UNFREEZE!*

"—freezing time?" Videl asked. Then she noticed her new mustache. "Hey, what the—?"

"HA HA HA HA HA!" Guildo said. "That's what you get for messing with Guil—d'oh!" he cried, as Videl flew forward and smashed him in the face.

"Gohan, let's go!" Videl cried.

"Great Saiyamen ATTACK!" Gohan cried. He and Videl transformed into the Great Saiyaman and Great Saiyawoman, and with a series of complicated movements, they teamed up and hit Jeice.

"Their poses are better than ours!" Jeice said. "We could be done for!"

"Let's not waste any more time!" Captain Ginyu said. "Everyone, ATTACK!"

_The Ginyu Force fought our five heroes. Captain Ginyu fought against Goku, while Piccolo struggled against Butta and Recoome. Gohan and Videl were beating the tar out of Jeice, and Krillin was hiding in the corner, trying to avoid the fight. Guildo occasionally froze time and did things like untie Gohan's shoelaces, in order to give his team an advantage._

_Just before the commercial break, the fight ended._

"All right!" Ginyu said. "Team, REPORT! How did the fight go?"

"Recoome and I are still at 70%" Butta reported.

"I'm down to 15%" Jeice said. "I need some assistance, fast!"

"I am completely unharmed," Guildo said proudly.

Piccolo shot out a weak energy blast and killed Guildo in one hit.

"That's not good," Jeice said.

"GINYU FORCE!" the evil King Galdar called. "I believe I can help you...with my dragonball-powered growth ray!"

He shot the Ginyu Force with his machine, and they grew twice as tall.

"All right!" Jeice said. "This is what I'm talking about!"

"Those Earthlings don't stand a chance!" Butta said.

"MOMMY!" Krillin cried.

* * *

_After the commercial break, the fight resumed. Our heroes were having a really tough time against the twice-as-large Ginyu Force. Videl was easily crushed, and even Piccolo was down for the count. Krillin, of course, was still crying for his mommy, so it was up to Goku and Gohan. Can they possible win?_

"Dad!" Gohan said. "We're getting close to the end of the episode! Time to wrap this up now!"

"Right!" Goku nodded. He turned Super Saiyan, and then he killed all of the Ginyu Force members in six seconds flat.

"Why didn't you do that at the start of the fight?" Krillin asked.

"And miss out on a good fight? No way!" Goku said.

"Fools!" King Galdar cried. "You may have won, but I'll never let you leave this planet alive! Feel the wrath of my _shrink ray!_"

He shot Goku with the shrink ray, and soon, Goku was half as small as normal. Gohan, Videl and Piccolo were all shrunk, too.

_King Galdar laughed like a maniac, while our tiny heroes shouted at Krillin. He was the last hope of the Z-Fighters! Could he possibly stop the evil king?_

"I surrender!" Krillin said. "Don't shrink me!"

_I'm guessing that's a "no"._

"Then, _bow_ to me, fool!" King Galdar said.

Krillin tried to bow in front of the king, but he accidentally tripped and smashed into Galdar. The shrinking/growing machine fell out of the king's hand and smashed into the ground. The only thing that survived the impact was the dragonball.

"NOOOOOO!" Galdar cried. "You destroyed my machine!"

Suddenly, our heroes returned to normal size. "Great job, Krillin!" Goku said. "For once, your clumsiness was useful!"

"I'm not clumsy!" Krillin cried, jumping up and down. He accidentally tripped over the dragonball and fell down.

Everybody laughed.

* * *

_And so, our heroes managed to save the day! The evil King Galdar was thrown into his own dungeon, and the Z-Fighters got the dragonball! They returned to their spaceship and once more, they took off into outer space! _

"It was really nice of those aliens to reprogram our ship for us," Gohan said.

"Yeah!" Goku said. "Now all we have to do is sit back, relax, and wait for us to arrive back home on Earth!"

"Do you really think we're headed in the right direction?" Videl asked.

"Of course we are!" Gohan said, pointing out the window. "There's Earth, right there!"

The Z-Fighters cheered when they saw their home planet. Krillin started jumping up and down for joy, and he accidentally hit the big red button again. The ship whirled out of control, past the planet Earth.

"Oh no!" Krillin said.

"KRILLIN!" everyone shouted.

"Whoops!" he said. "Looks like we're going to be lost in space for at least two more episodes!"

_And the story of our heroes and their wacky outer space adventures continues...next time, on DragonBall GT!_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow! That was exciting!

Tomorrow is an optional eighth day, with a "do whatever you want" prompt. Any suggestions from you readers?


	8. How Episode 240 Should Have Gone

**Author's Note: **In case you haven't noticed, I went back and redid the ending for Chapter 5, the mystery chapter. Hooray!

I couldn't think of a good prompt, so today's story will be about a part of the Majin Buu saga that always bugged me: the part where everyone thought Gohan was dead, even though he wasn't. Here's a brief recap of what happened in the series at the time:

Episode 240: Our heroes summon Shenron. Yamcha wishes that everyone who died that day come back to life, "except the really, really bad ones".  
Episode 241: Our heroes find out that Majin Buu killed Gohan. They are all sad, and no one remembers the wish on the dragonballs.

I mean, let's be serious here. Even if Gohan was killed by Majin Buu—which he wasn't—he would have been revived by the dragonballs. Therefore, there's no reason for them to think Gohan is dead forever.

* * *

The skies over Earth were dark and cloudy, as they always were when Shenron was summoned. The mood on top of Kami's Lookout was tense, as Goku tried desperately to locate his friends' energy signals.

"I can't find them!" Goku said angrily. "It's so cloudy..."

"Goku, you have to hurry, before they use up all the wishes!" Dende said.

"GOT IT!" Goku cried, before disappearing with the Instant Transmission technique.

Goku reappeared in front of Capsule Corp. All of the Z-Fighters were gathered there on the lawn.

"What is your second wish?" Shenron demanded.

"Did he just say _your second wish?_" Goku asked loudly. "Oh no, I'm too late!"

"Goku!" Bulma said.

"Hey, Goku!" Yamcha said.

"Did he just appear out of nowhere?" Videl asked. First magical dragons, then people appearing from nowhere...this day was getting weirder and weirder by the second.

"Uh, we don't have any other wishes, Shenron!" Goku called.

"Goku, what are you doing?" Bulma asked.

"Yeah, Goku, we still have one wish left!" Yamcha said.

"Trust me, you guys, we're going to need it for later," Goku said grimly. "Yep, no more wishes, Shenron! You can go home now and come back in six months!"

"NO!" Videl cried. "Don't go! We're not done yet!"

Goku looked at Videl. "But Videl, we can't use this wish right now!" he said.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because, we're going to need it to undo all the damage that Majin Buu is doing right now," Goku explained.

"So he _is_ alive," Yamcha said. "Oh man, that's not good."

"I still don't get it," Videl said, scratching her head. "Why are we giving up the wish?"

"Right now, Majin Buu is running around the Earth, killing hundreds of innocent people!" Goku said. "If we don't stop him soon, he might start killing _millions_ of people! We need to save our wish for _after_ Buu is defeated, so we can bring them back to life!"

"Oh, so we're not giving up a wish, we're just saving it for later!" Bulma said.

"Exactly," Goku said.

"Makes sense to me," Yamcha agreed.

"No, it _doesn't_ make sense!" Videl said. "Am I the only one who understands what's going on here? We have an all powerful magical dragon that can get us out of this mess!"

"Now _I _don't get it," Goku said.

"Look, Dragon Guy!" Videl said, calling to Shenron. "We've got a monster named Majin Buu on our planet. Is there any way you can get rid of him?"

"Oh, sure," Shenron said. "I can put him back in his egg, reduce his power level to one, relocate him to the middle of the sun...any of those options sound good to you?"

"Can you do all three at once?" Videl asked.

Shenron focused his magic powers. Overcoming Babidi's magic was a challenge, but not an impossible one. "It...is...done!" he said.

"All right!" Videl said. "You see?" she told Goku. "_That's _why we shouldn't have given up the wish."

"But what about everyone killed by Majin Buu?" Goku asked. "We needed to use the wish to bring them back to life! This is terrible!"

Shenron snorted, and let me tell you, when the mystical dragon snorts, it can be heard all over the Earth.

"I _just_ brought back everyone who died today," Shenron said.

"Yeah, that was our first wish," Bulma said. "I guess you didn't arrive in time to hear it."

"Oh," Goku said. "But this is still...still..."

"I will leave now!" Shenron said. He disappeared back into the dragonballs, and the dragonballs scattered all over the Earth.

"Hey, the sky is back to normal," Videl noted.

"All right!" Yamcha cheered. "You guys, I think we just saved the day! We defeated Majin Buu, _and_ we brought everyone back to life!"

The minor Z-Fighters—Oolong, Master Roshi, Chi-Chi and the like—all cheered.

"Gosh, I don't know..." Goku said. "I can't get rid of the feeling that we made a really huge mistake somehow..."

* * *

Three minutes later, Goku and the Z-Fighters appeared on top of Kami's Lookout.

Dende ran over, and he didn't even bother to say "hello" first.

"You made a really huge mistake!" Dende said, waving his arms wildly. "What were you _thinking_, using up both wishes?"

"You were _supposed_ to stop them, Goku!" Piccolo said.

"But Dende, Videl had a really _good_ wish!" Goku said. "She got rid of Majin Buu! The world is safe now, right?"

"I'm not saying it was a bad idea," Dende said. "But she doesn't know all the facts!"

Videl, who had been talking to Chi-Chi about their strange new location, walked over to Goku, Dende and Piccolo. "Hey, Mr. Argue About Someone Like She's Not Even Here," she said. "What are you talking about?"

"You shouldn't have made that wish," Dende said. "You don't know enough about the Majin Buu situation."

Piccolo nodded. "If you knew everything, you would have saved that wish."

"Oh, really?" Videl asked. "And why is that, Mr. Know It All?"

"Because you don't know!" Dende said. "You don't know that...that Gohan..."

"Gohan?" Videl asked, as her stomach flopped within her. She didn't like the sound of this...

"I'm sorry," Piccolo said. "But Gohan is dead. He was killed by Majin Buu."

"NO!" Videl said.

"And now that you've wasted our last wish, _we can't bring him back!_" Piccolo shouted.

"Piccolo, calm down," Goku said, grabbing his friend's arm. "It's too late now."

"So you see, Videl," Dende said. "Stopping Majin Buu was a good idea, but that wish could have been used for a better purpose."

"Are you guys crazy?" Videl asked. "Gohan's not dead!"

"Yes, he is," Piccolo said. "I heard Vegeta say it."

"Vegeta...the guy who killed all those people at the tournament?" Videl asked.

"That's the one," Piccolo nodded.

"Oh, sure, _he's_ a trustworthy source of information," Videl said, rolling her eyes. "Did you actually _see_ Gohan get killed by Majin Buu?"

"Nobody saw that," Dende said. "In fact, I didn't even know that Gohan _fought_ Buu. None of us sensed the two of them fighting."

"Sensed?" Videl asked.

"When two people are fighting, they exert a lot of energy," Goku explained. "You can sense this energy, even from a long way off. But Gohan...he's not giving off any energy right now."

"Hmmm," Videl said. This energy-sensing thing sounded kind of creepy to her. "What does that mean?"

"If we can't sense his energy, it means that he must be dead," Goku said.

"Can't he be sleeping? Or reading? Or doing something else that doesn't require a lot of energy?" Videl asked.

"Well...yes," Goku said. "But—"

"But nothing!" Videl said. "Jeez, _think_ for a moment, will you? Gohan isn't dead!"

Goku looked sad. "I know that, deep in your heart, you _want_ him to still be alive," he said. "But the truth is—"

"This isn't about my feelings!" Videl said, getting flustered. "This is about common sense. Look, no one saw Gohan die, right? You said yourself that you didn't even know he was in a fight with Buu!"

Dende nodded. "That's right," he said.

"So all you _really _have to go on here is the word of a lying psychopath, who _said_ Gohan died in a fight that nobody saw or even knew about!" Videl said. "Don't any of you see a problem with this?"

"But...his energy!" Piccolo protested.

"You can't sense his energy, which means he's either dead or sleeping," Videl said. "Why can't he be sleeping? I bet this Vegeta jerk knocked Gohan unconscious, and he just _said_ that Gohan was dead, just to mess with our heads."

"Vegeta _did_ knock me unconscious earlier today," Goku said. "I could see him doing the same thing to Gohan."

"And _besides_," Videl said. "Even if Gohan _was_ killed by Majin Buu, we just wished everyone who was killed today back to life! So he's alive again!"

"She's right!" Piccolo said.

"Of _course_ I'm right!" Videl said. "Am I the only one around here who thinks things through?"

"Dende, we have to find Gohan, NOW!" Piccolo ordered. "Before Babidi or anyone else can get to him!"

"Oh, man, Babidi!" Dende said. "I forgot about him! Goku, is there any chance you could...?"

"I'm on it," Goku nodded. He disappeared with Instant Transmission.

"Well?" Videl asked.

"Well, what?" Piccolo asked, rudely.

Videl crossed her arms and glared at Piccolo. "I'm waiting for your apology."

"Apology nothing!" Piccolo said. "I won't—"

"I'm sorry for yelling at you about wasting a wish," Dende said. "And for jumping to conclusions about Gohan's death."

"I forgive you," Videl said. "And I understand why you were upset. Gohan is a very...special person."

* * *

Goku managed to find Babidi and kill him, without much trouble. He was also able to find Gohan's unconscious body, and brought him back to the Lookout.

"I _told_ you he wasn't dead!" Videl said.

"Dead?" Chi-Chi screeched. "Who said my son was _dead?_"

"The green guy did," Videl said, pointing at Piccolo.

"Uh oh," Piccolo said to himself as Chi-Chi marched over to him with an angry look on her face.

Dende used his healing powers on Gohan. Gohan stood up, unsteadily.

"Huh?" Gohan asked, looking around. "Dende? Dad? What's everyone doing here on the Lookout? Where's Majin Buu?"

"He's gone, Gohan," Goku said. "All thanks to Videl."

"Huh? Videl?" Gohan asked. "Where's she—?"

Videl stepped forward, in front of Gohan. "I'm right here, you idiot," she said. "Do you realize how _worried _I was about you? You went off to fight evil monsters, and everyone said you were dead, and—"

"Gee, Videl, I didn't know you cared so much about me," Gohan said.

"Of _course_ I care about you!" Videl said. "You're my...my...my friend."

"_Just_ a friend?" Bulma wondered.

"I care about you too, Videl," Gohan said, hugging her. She hugged back, grabbing him tightly.

"Aw!" Chi-Chi said.

"He should have kissed her," Yamcha said to Krillin.

"Yeah, no kidding," Krillin said. "I think we'll have to teach Gohan a thing or two about how to handle women..."

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Android 18 asked.

"Uh, nothing!" Krillin said.

After a _lot_ of explanation from Dende, as well as a special guest appearance from the Supreme Kai, our heroes finally understood everything that happened that day. And because everyone—besides Bulma—was in a mood to celebrate Goku's last day on Earth, they went to Hercule's humongous World Tournament Celebration Party.

"I'm the Champ! I'm the Champ!" Hercule cheered. "I'm the...uh oh," he said, catching sight of Android Eighteen.

"This is so much fun!" Goku said, stuffing his mouth with chips. "I'm really sorry I have to go back to Other World!"

"We could always use the Namekian dragonballs to wish you back to life," Dende said. The Guardian of Earth was currently dancing to the loud music.

"Really? That would be great!" Goku said.

"Yeah, I'm sure everyone there would—aw, the song's over!" Dende said, as the techno beat disappeared and was replaced with a cheesy duet. "I hate slow songs!"

"Gohan and Videl seem to enjoy it," Goku said, pointing at the two teens. They were spinning in a circle, hardly aware of the world outside them.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Chi-Chi said. "They make such a cute couple!"

"What the—?" Hercule shouted from across the room. He marched up to the two teens. "Hey, you! I thought I told you to get your hands off of my daughter! She's not allowed to dance with anyone until she's married!"

_"Dad!"_ Videl said, embarrassed.

"You leave Gohan alone!" Chi-Chi said, smacking Hercule.

_"Mom!"_ Gohan said, embarrassed.

As Chi-Chi and Hercule began to fight, Goku turned to Dende. "Now that I think about it, you probably _should_ ask the people on Namek to bring me back," Goku said. "I have a feeling it's going to take more than one day to resolve this situation."

"Yeah, no kidding," Dende said, watching the screaming parents and the blushing teens.

_The End._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, that's it, folks! Eight short stories, each one written in a day! Thanks for reading, everyone.


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